A socio-cultural approach to understanding the learning experiences of vocational training among Vietnamese immigrant women in Taiwan

• This study investigates Vietnamese immigrant women‘s vocational training.
• The women undertook culinary training to develop the human and cultural capital.
• The women learned by perseverance at the margins.
• Completing the training empowered these women.
• These women’s socio-cultural contexts influenced their vocational training.

SynopsisBased on a socio-cultural approach to adult learning, this study draws on interviews with 19 married Vietnamese women to explore the learning experiences of Vietnamese immigrant women in vocational training in Taiwan. With permission from their families, the women participated in culinary training to develop the human and cultural capital necessary to fulfil their expected responsibilities. Despite remaining silent and marginalised during the Taiwanese-centred training, the women exercised their agency to complete the training and obtain cooking certificates. The completion of the training and the acquisition of the certificate empowered these women through their labour market participation by giving them a greater voice in their families, facilitating their integration into Taiwanese society, and advancing the pursuit of their life goals. For these immigrant women, their early socialisation in Vietnam and socio-cultural experiences in Taiwan affected their learning of vocational training, which was intertwined with issues of gender, ethnicity, and marriage immigrant status.