Professional Services in Vietnam: Consulting, Training, and Outsourcing Opportunities

This guide explores the market landscape, regulatory environment, business opportunities, and the key factors foreign professional service firms should consider when establishing or expanding their presence in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s Professional Services Sector Overview

In Vietnam, the growth of the professional services sector over the past decade has been driven by the economy, foreign direct investment, digital transformation, and business complexity. Professional services are required at every level of business operations, including manufacturing, logistics, and real estate. Investments in these businesses increase the demand for consulting, training, outsourcing, legal, accounting, and business support services.

For foreign companies doing business in Vietnam, most professional services are essential during the process of entering and expanding in the Vietnamese market. Companies rely on third parties to assist them with the formation and registration of companies, entrance and compliance with the legal and regulatory environment, recruitment, training, and digital and operational services. As the Vietnamese economy develops, the requirements for advanced and specialized services from foreign and local companies grow.

Economic Growth and FDI Continue to Drive Demand

Vietnam remains one of the fastest growing economies in the region. In 2025, Vietnam’s GDP grew by 8.02%, reaching approximately $514 billion USD (12.85 quadrillion VND). Vietnam’s GDP per capita reached $5,026, an increase of $326 from the previous year, and officially promoted Vietnam to the upper-middle-income countries.

At the same time, strong foreign investments continue to flow into Vietnam. The Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) indicated that for 2025, the total registered FDI in Vietnam was $38.42 billion USD, an increase of 0.5% against 2024 ($38.23 billion USD). Manufacturing, real estate, technology, and business services topped the sectors that attracted foreign investments.

Professional service firms will have a positive year. Foreign investors entering Vietnam continue to require legal firms to help them with company registration and to assist them with the ongoing legal and regulatory requirements. There is a clear requirement for accounting services, tax consultants, and operational consultants once a company becomes operational.

Digital Transformation and Workforce Development

After economic growth, digital transformation is projected to drive increased demand for professional services.

Vietnam’s National Digital Transformation Program supports technology uptake and modernization of business operations and productivity across sectors. As businesses invest in systems and tools for enterprise resource planning, automation, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, demand for consulting services and assistance with implementation continues to grow.

Workforce development is another critical aspect. Vietnam’s labor force continues to be an important competitive advantage for the country. However, employers struggle with management capability and skills gaps as well as high employee turnover. This has transformed corporate training, management and leadership development, human resources consulting, and professional certification into high-demand services for the public and private sectors.

The integration of skills development and digital transformation is opening service delivery opportunities to firms that assist businesses to improve operational processes and performance.

Vietnam’s Position Within Southeast Asia

Vietnam has a competitive edge over more developed markets like Singapore because Vietnam has a younger workforce, a growing labor market, and lower costs of doing business. While professional services in Vietnam are still nascent, demand is projected to grow quicker than in more developed markets in the region.

Compared to Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Vietnam attracts much higher manufacturing-led foreign direct investment. This creates strong demand for services that facilitate market entry for foreign investors like consulting, recruitment, workforce training, and outsourcing.

Most professional services are concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi since that’s where the headquarters of most multinational companies, financial institutions, tech companies, and governmental bodies are located. However, due to industrial development spreading to the rest of the country, additional business hubs like Da Nang, Hai Phong, Binh Duong, and Bac Ninh are becoming even more important.

Multinational companies considering entering the Vietnamese market should understand that the professional services market within Vietnam is transforming and should not be interpreted as a supporting industry. Vietnam is undergoing a transformational economic phase. Therefore, along with the economic growth of Vietnam, the demand for professional services and training, as well as consulting and outsourcing services, should be anticipated to be on the rise.

Consulting Services

One of the most rapidly developing areas of the professional service market is consulting services. Businesses are slowly realizing that to make some of the more complex business decisions, they will need to hire external consultants to aid in the expansion of their businesses, to assist in the implementation of major transformational changes in the business, to help navigate the regulatory environment, and implement frameworks for sustainable and profitable growth.

For most foreign businesses, consulting services are essentially centralized to the entire investment process. This starts from market entry strategy, to setting up the company, to smooth scaling, to flexible and adaptable operational processes, and to evolving strategies.

Foreign investors in Vietnam still need legal and regulatory consulting services to meet the requirements for investment, labor, taxes, and corporate compliance. Demand has grown for these services as investment, land, housing, and real estate laws have been reformed.

Financial advisory services can include professional services for transactions, due diligence, valuation, restructuring, tax, and M&A services. These services are in demand as regional and international investors focus on Vietnam’s M&A markets.

The rapid growth of HR consulting also reflects the increased demand for services related to the design of executive compensation, search, and organizational structures, as well as consulting services related to the structuring and planning of workforces and retention of employees.

The consulting market now encompasses projects beyond traditional consulting strategies, and increasingly includes consulting services related to technology, risk management, and the development of organizations.

Main Reasons Foreign Firms Hire Consultants

The strongest single demand for consulting services in Vietnam is still due to direct market entry.

Most foreign firms that enter the Vietnamese market have little or no understanding of the local regulations, how to access distribution, the business culture, labor, or the competitive environment. Consultants are able to provide the necessary insights to close those gaps. They offer market studies to support investment decisions, feasibility studies, and support the identification of local partners to assist with implementation.

Consultants are also retained for numerous services related to operational and regulatory issues after initial market access.

For many firms, the cost of consulting fees is a minor concern compared to the potential risks of large, strategic business decisions made with little information.

New Demand Areas

Some consulting services have significantly higher recent demand, especially in consulting related to ESG and sustainability. Many multinational firms, institutional investors, and manufacturers focused on exporting goods are now more likely to use these services due to changes in their reporting and compliance requirements.

Digital transformation consulting is expanding as firms begin investing in automation, AI, data analytics, and Cybersecurity.

As distinct sourcing strategies and manufacturing optimization in Southeast Asia become more prevalent, so does the need for supply chain advisory services.

This growth creates an opportunity for both international and local consulting firms.

Key Players in Vietnam’s Consulting Market

In Vietnam, the consulting market consists of international and regional firms.

The Big Four, PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG dominate the consulting market for transaction services, tax, and audit-related services and risk consulting. Other global consulting firms include McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Roland Berger, among others, and they are mostly engaged in advisory services for large corporations and multinational clients.

Boutique consultancies have also gained traction offering advisory services in ESG, HR, and other sectors, and technology services. They are more competitive in the local and industry knowledge, and offer more flexible engagement.

In Vietnam, firms choosing an advisor are more reliant on practical local and industry knowledge rather than the size of the consultancy. They value the ability of consultants to implement the advisory services rather than provide them in theory.

Training and Talent Development

Workforce Development has become a market and government priority as Vietnam climbs the global value chain. Although Vietnam has a large workforce that is relatively young, many businesses complain they cannot find people with the appropriate skills to fill higher-value roles that require technical, managerial, and soft skills.

Training employees has now gone beyond just the onboarding of new employees. Foreign businesses must train employees to build and retain a competitive workforce. Training has gone beyond just building a workforce to facilitating the transformation of a business to a digital enterprise and the buildout of a formalized structure to a business.

Workforce Skills and the Growing Need for Upskilling

Annually, Vietnam produces a large pool of university graduates. Many employers still complain that employees lack skills and the ability to fill the role assigned to them. This is evident in the fields of technology, advanced manufacturing, engineering, logistics, financial and professional services.

As automation, artificial intelligence, and the digitalization of business are being adopted, the need for employees with a blend of hard skills and problem-solving, communication, and project management skills increase. This is coupled with a lack of middle management, especially in locally fast growing and in foreign invested enterprises that have expanded into Vietnam.

This has compelled businesses to rely more on internal employees and establish programs to upskill and reskill their workforce.

Corporate Training and Professional Development Services

Training enterprises in Vietnam have diversified to accommodate the different needs of organizations, large and small, and across different industry segments.

The corporate skills training segment grew the most. Corporate skills training includes communication, presentation, customer service, teamwork, project management, and productivity. Corporate skills training is used by multinational companies and local companies.

While corporate skills training is the most popular, large companies are turning to leadership training as well. As companies grow, there is more and more demand for middle and upper management to be trained and for coaching and training programs to be developed for future leaders.

Business English training is another major segment. Although the English ability of major city populations has noticeably improved, many companies still provide training in business English, presentation training, business negotiation training, and cross-cultural training for their employees to aid the company’s work abroad.

In the technical fields, there is a growing demand for specialized training related to digital technologies, cybersecurity, data analytics, and software engineering, as well as industrial automation and engineering training. These programs are offered in a variety of formats, including classroom training, workshops, certification training, and online learning.

Opportunities for International Training Providers

Foreign training providers have successful business opportunities in Vietnam, especially in the fields where employers greatly appreciate international expertise, certifications, and specialized methods.

For leadership training, project management, training on ESG, digital transformation, and other technical training, most large, international companies prefer training that teaches internationally accepted concepts, principles, and methods. Because of this, there are many business opportunities for foreign educational providers, corporate trainers, and executive trainers.

The quick acceptance of hybrid models of learning has opened even more business opportunities. As companies try to find more efficient and cost-effective ways to conduct training, learning management systems (LMS) for corporate training and e-learning, virtual classrooms, and tools that use micro-learning are being rapidly deployed.

Instead of competing based on cost, international providers often thrive by selling specialized knowledge, accredited global credentials, and training built on international business methodologies.

Government Support for Workforce Development

For Vietnam’s government, developing the nation’s workforce is a top policy priority. To increase labor productivity, the government is implementing multiple strategies that include vocational training, public-private partnerships, and skilling initiatives. These strategies also seek to provide workforce skills that better meet industry requirements.

Stronger policy support of initiatives that focus technical education and vocational training, digital skills, and industry-academia collaboration, is Vietnam’s response to its need to strengthen its competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing, technology, and in knowledge-intensive sectors.

New opportunities are opened by these initiatives to training and talent development firms to partner with government agencies, educational institutions, and industry associations to offer workforce development programs.

Outsourcing Opportunities

For Vietnam’s government, developing the nation’s workforce is a top policy priority. To increase labor productivity, the government is implementing multiple strategies that include vocational training, public-private partnerships, and skilling initiatives. These strategies also seek to provide workforce skills that better meet industry requirements.

Stronger policy support of initiatives that focus technical education and vocational training, digital skills, and industry-academia collaboration, is Vietnam’s response to its need to strengthen its competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing, technology, and in knowledge-intensive sectors.

New opportunities are opened by these initiatives to training and talent development firms to partner with government agencies, educational institutions, and industry associations to offer workforce development programs.

Competitive Factors in Favor of Outsourcing

A range of factors strengthen the position of Vietnam in global outsourcing.

What stands out most is price competitiveness. Vietnam’s labor costs may have increased, but still, Vietnam is cheaper compared with developed markets and has a workforce that is both large and educated.

Vietnam’s technology ecosystem has rapidly increasing maturity. Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang have growing communities of software developers, IT professionals, digital workers, and professionals that provide services in multiple languages. Outsourcing rapidly increases with continued investment in broadband, increased usage of cloud technology, and digital transformation.

Strong integration of global trade networks and a stable political environment mean outsourcing partner investments are safe in Vietnam.

Key Outsourcing Segments

Information technology and software development continue to lead all other segments of outsourcing. Vietnam is trusted in software engineering, application development, QA testing, cybersecurity, cloud development, and digital products. A number of foreign technology companies have development centers in Vietnam or partner with Vietnamese software companies.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has become another developing segment. Many companies outsource customer support, back office, data processing, content moderation, and other administrative and shared services to Vietnam.

There is also increasing interest toward outsourcing finance and accounting, especially by multinational companies establishing regional centers. Outsourcing models are used increasingly for services such as bookkeeping, payroll, taxation services, and financial statements.

Other services are legal process outsourcing, research support, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), and outsourcing of professional services. These are becoming more common with Vietnam’s higher-value, more skilled workforce.

Vietnam Compared with India and the Philippines

Vietnam is usually compared with India and the Philippines, two of the most traditional outsourcing countries.

India is the largest outsourcing country in IT services and business process outsourcing because of the age of the industry and its large pool of people. The Philippines has the greatest share for voice-based business process outsourcing and contact centers.

Vietnam has an advantage in a different position. The combination of low prices, good technical skills, and the rise of English skills, plus the proximity to major Asian markets are some of the advantages Vietnam has over the rest. Many companies see Vietnam neither as a substitute for India or the Philippines, but as part of a diversification of their business, where concentration risk is reduced.

As companies are looking for more flexible and regionally diversified operational models, this phenomenon is gaining more prominence.

Risks and Considerations

Although there is a large upside to potential growth with outsourcing, it is still essential to analyze the outsourcing service providers.

Intellectual property, data security, and quality of service and communication along with cultural fit are all deciding factors in the selection of an outsourcing partner. Due diligence, with the setting of SLAs, and control mechanisms, are all essential in deciding to work with a partner for the long term.

In Vietnam, due to the many outsourcing service providers, there is a greater risk in outsourcing as the offerings and capabilities of providers can vary greatly.

For businesses looking to manage risk with partner selection and management, Vietnam has a good offering of talent at a low cost and with the potential for valuable partnerships.

Conclusion

As businesses with a focus on transformation, talent development and efficiency invest in Vietnam, the professional services market is set for growth. Continued strong performance of the Vietnamese economy, a growing liberalized economy and continuing Foreign Direct Investment, will create a need for a wide range of professional services in the fields of consulting, training and outsourcing.

The opportunity for service providers is not only in serving the foreign businesses in Vietnam. As local businesses grow in sophistication, service providers in Vietnam will have more opportunity to provide services such as business consulting, training, making professional services available, and outsourcing, to enhance Vietnam’s competitiveness. With an emphasis on talent development, along with increased complexity of digital services and regulations, there will be an even greater need for quality professional services. The best opportunity in the market will be for those organizations that understand the business culture of Vietnam and have international business experience.