PARTNERING WITH VIETNAM YOUNG LIONS 2026: UPZI’S STRATEGIC STEPS IN BUILDING A YOUNG HUMAN RESOURCES ECOSYSTEM

In the context of unprecedented volatility in both the global and Vietnamese job markets, challenges are intensifying. This pressure impacts not only Gen Z—the youngest workforce and the key future labor pool but also businesses striving to recruit, train, and retain talent.  

Entering the market during this turbulent period, Upzi – a career platform under Navigos Group, faces dual challenges from both sides of the employment equation. The core issue lies in how to balance understanding Gen Z’s evolving perceptions and expectations of work and career values, while simultaneously addressing the recruitment and human resource challenges faced by employers – factors that directly determine business survival.  

Partnering with Vietnam Young Lions 2026: A Strategic Step to Understanding the Market  

To identify and resolve the challenges between Gen Z and recruiters, Upzi has chosen to accompany Vietnam Young Lions 2026 as a Diamond Sponsor and the Brand Brief for the Marketers category. For an application less than a year old, entering this major creative arena for youth is a bold decision. However, it serves as the clearest testament to the “dare to think, dare to do” spirit of Gen Z that Upzi aims for.   

Mr. Hirohide Uchiyama, representative of Upzi, the diamond sponsor, receives a token of appreciation from Ms. Pham Dieu Anh, CEO of AIM Academy

As a platform dedicated to the next generation, Upzi recognizes the importance of deeply understanding youth psychology on their journey of self-discovery from their expectations and anxieties to the pressures of job hunting. There is no better place than Vietnam Young Lions for Upzi to listen to these shared concerns.  

Born in the digital era, Gen Z is highly tech-savvy yet faces constant societal shifts. Differences in mindset often lead to negative labels, such as being perceived as lazy or easily discouraged. This inadvertently creates hesitation and generalized assumptions from businesses, making the recruitment process more challenging than ever for both sides.  

Therefore, partnering with Vietnam Young Lions 2026 presents an ideal opportunity for Upzi to bridge this gap. It allows the brand to directly listen to the thoughts and career aspirations of young people, while demonstrating that behind the stereotypes lies a generation that is resilient, creative, and ready to break free from their comfort zones.  

The clearest evidence of this was demonstrated by the Top 10 Finalists. Their innovative solutions and presentations provided the judges and the Upzi team with practical, invaluable insights straight from the voices of the future generation.  

For the First Time at Vietnam Young Lions: The Debut of a Product-led Growth Challenge  

Considered highly demanding and unique, this year’s Upzi challenge for the Marketers category brought competing teams back to the core foundation of brand success and sustainable growth: the product.  

Instead of traditional brand awareness campaigns, Upzi required contestants to develop a Product-led Growth (PLG) solution. Given that recruitment is inherently a two-way market, a platform cannot attract top recruiters without a robust pool of potential candidates. Therefore, the core of the challenge was to solve the problem from the demand side – attracting potential job seekers and interns to strengthen and support the entire business ecosystem of Navigos Group.  

Commenting on the professional complexity of the brief, Advertising Vietnam noted:  

“This is when the line between marketers and product developers – is gradually blurring. A good idea must not only be attractive but also possess a clear product mindset, technological implementation capabilities, and most importantly, the power to drive new user behaviors… With this year’s challenge, what matters more is how that idea is integrated into the product and how it functions within the real-world user experience. How do users interact with the product? And is the value created sustainable?”  

Accompanying Businesses to Solve the Quality Dilemma of Young Talent

According to VnExpress, in a constantly shifting labor market, corporate recruitment standards are becoming increasingly stringent. Today’s biggest challenge is no longer just recruiting “enough people,” but recruiting “the right people.” Furthermore, the explosion of AI technology has created a paradox: candidates can easily “polish” their resumes using technology, forcing businesses to spend significant time and capital on screening while still struggling to assess actual capabilities. Consequently, recruitment and training costs continue to escalate.  

In response to this reality, Upzi has emerged as a bridge helping businesses solve this pain point through a deep understanding of the new generation of employees. This is evidenced by the fact that shortly after its launch in 2025, Upzi attracted over 150,000 active Gen Z users seeking career opportunities.  

Moving away from traditional, passive recruitment methods, Upzi pioneers in helping businesses access and “nurture” young talent straight from the lecture halls through career guidance sessions, practical workshops, and skill development programs. This long-term strategy allows businesses to not only build a stable pool of potential candidates for internship and fresher positions, but also shape an ideal employer image in the minds of Gen Z.  

Upzi has consistently focused on and reinforced this approach through a series of events and activities since its launch. Making a powerful impression right from its launch, the brand organized the Career Pathfinder 2025 event, attracting over 700 young individuals and 19 leading companies while also collaborating with Honda Vietnam in the Honda UNI TOUR 2025 campaign. The brand has further expanded its reach by hosting career fairs, talk shows, and workshops across more than 50 prestigious universities nationwide, including RMIT, Foreign Trade University (FTU), University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), Hanoi University of Science and Technology, National Economics University (NEU), Vietnam-Germany University (VGU), and Duy Tan University, among others.  

The talk show “Building Personal Identity for Your Career Journey,” organized by Upzi, featured representatives from Saint-Gobain Vietnam and 600 students from Ton Duc Thang University

Upzi connected with students and shared insights during the Fulbright Career Day 2026

RMIT University students engaged with Mr. Do Cong Toan, Senior AI Product Manager at Navigos Group and representative of Upzi, in the Expert Talk: Getting Career Ready in the AI World, part of the Career Festival 2026

Upzi joined VGU Career Fair 2026

In the first half of 2026, Upzi continued to collaborate and partner with numerous talent recruitment programs of multinational corporations and major enterprises, such as Decathlon Vietnam (Future Shaper Program 2026), Heineken Vietnam (Next Gen 2026), MoMo (MoMo Talent 2026), and Suntory PepsiCo (Graduate Sales Talent and Graduate Engineering Talent 2026). Leveraging the Navigos Group and Upzi ecosystem, businesses can optimize youth recruitment costs while gaining a strategic partner to build long-term employer branding for the next generation of talent. 

After a successful season of Vietnam Young Lions 2026, the groundbreaking and innovative ideas of these young talents leave not only an unforgettable milestone but also a solid springboard for their future career paths. Just as the competition served as the launching pad for Gen Z’s big dreams, Upzi will continue its journey of developing and perfecting its platform – acting as a strategic bridge that connects the creative energy of the new generation with the practical needs of businesses, to collectively drive sustainable value for the labor market.