Koto HER Turn
Vietnam

KOTO creates secure future prospects in Vietnam's catering and hotel industry

– now also specifically for young women

„Know One, Teach One“ – this team idea is not only the overriding principle of the Vietnamese educational institution KOTO, but was also the inspiration for its name. The project offers young people between the ages of 16 and 22 a two-year vocational training program in the hospitality industry that is certified to international standards.

Most of the young people come from difficult backgrounds and some have been affected by sexualized violence. KOTO opens up future career prospects for them and gives them access to the job market in the hospitality and tourism industry.

KOTO Restaurant Vietnam Angestellte
KOTO has a good reputation far beyond the borders of Vietnam:
many hotels prefer to hire young people from the KOTO project, and not only out of social commitment. Their good training and strong teamwork skills make them particularly desirable for hotel and restaurant businesses.
 
The young people have understood that helping each other can change an entire life. Everyone passes on their knowledge to others – in keeping with the motto Know One, Teach One. 

Know

One

KOTO Restaurant Vietnam Angestellte
KOTO has a good reputation far beyond the borders of Vietnam: many hotels prefer to hire young people from the KOTO project, and not only out of social commitment. Their good training and
strong teamwork skills make them particularly desirable for hotel and restaurant businesses.
 
The young people have understood that helping each other can change an entire life. Everyone passes on their knowledge to others – in keeping with the motto Know One, Teach One.

Know

One

Focus on vocational training for young women: "Her Turn”

In 2022, KOTO launched “Her Turn”: a 12-month holistic training programme in the hospitality industry specifically targeting young women from ethnic minorities. This group is particularly vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking and/or further marginalisation due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Limited formal education and consequent lack of language and financial skills are the cause of this inequality. Each year, 30 young women are given the chance to “Her Turn”.
The programme aims to provide all participants with permanent employment in the hospitality industry. The curriculum is broad and includes hospitality skills, English lessons, computer courses, entrepreneurship workshops and social skills. Each participant spends the first 18 months at KOTO in Hanoi. The newly acquired knowledge is consolidated and deepened in practise during a 6-month external internship in a 5-star hotel in Vietnam.
 
Each trainee receives employment in the Vietnamese hospitality sector with the support of KOTO.
Watch a video of the project
DER Touristik Foundation KOTO Projekt Vietnam
Koto Vietnam Restaurant

Copyright: KOTO Foundation/ Carsten Heinke

Focus on vocational training for young women: "Her Turn”

DER Touristik Foundation KOTO Projekt Vietnam
Koto Vietnam Restaurant

Copyright: KOTO Foundation/ Carsten Heinke

In 2022, KOTO launched “Her Turn”: a 12-month holistic training programme in the hospitality industry specifically targeting young women from ethnic minorities. This group is particularly vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking and/or further marginalisation due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Limited formal education and consequent lack of language and financial
skills are the cause of this inequality. Each year, 30 young women are given the chance to “Her Turn”.
The programme aims to provide all participants with permanent employment in the hospitality industry. The curriculum is broad and includes hospitality skills, English lessons, computer courses, entrepreneurship workshops and social skills. Each participant spends the first 18 months at KOTO in Hanoi. The newly acquired knowledge is consolidated and
deepened in practise during a 6-month external internship in a 5-star hotel in Vietnam.
 
Each trainee receives employment in the Vietnamese hospitality sector with the support of KOTO.
Watch a video of the project

Support from DER Touristik Foundation again in 2024

In 2024, we are supporting a shorter programme.  Each participant will spend 6 months at KOTO in Hanoi. We are funding 13 trainees in the ‘Her Turn’ programme in 2024.

Even before the pandemic, we supported the renovation and expansion of the KOTO training restaurant in Hanoi, where the trainees complete their practical training. With the Corona crisis, all sales in the catering sector, where the trainees are employed, collapsed. Therefore, since 2020, DER Foundation funded accommodation, tuition and health care for some trainees so that the young people do not lose their training and future opportunities.

Successful life journeys that make us proud

Training at KOTO is a success story:

0 %

of the students
finish the education

0 %
are offered and accept a job in the hotel or restaurant industry

This sometimes results in extraordinary careers, such as Nga’s: she left school at the age of 13 to work full time as a candle maker out of economic necessity.

At the age of 20, she learned about KOTO, trained there as a waitress, then worked in Hanoi’s most prestigious hotels and restaurants, and even managed a newly opened restaurant.
KOTO Vietnam Frauen in der Gastronomie

Copyright: KOTO Foundation/ Carsten Heinke

KOTO Vietnam Frauen in der Gastronomie

Copyright: KOTO Foundation/ Carsten Heinke

This sometimes results in extraordinary careers, such as Nga’s: she left school at the age of 13 to work full time as a candle maker out of economic necessity.

At 20, the young woman found out about KOTO, trained there as a waitress, then worked in Hanoi’s most renowned hotels and restaurants and even managed a newly opened restaurant.

Our cooperation partner:

KOTO Foundation

The KOTO Foundation, whose sphere of action stretches from Australia to Vietnam, cares for disadvantaged youth in Vietnam. The philosophy of KOTO is anchored in its name: KOTO stands for Know One, Teach One – knowledge should be passed on. It is there to be shared. This is the basic idea of the Vietnamese-Australian founder of KOTO, Jimmy Pham.

Copyright Header: Carsten Heinke