Lastly, was this incident caused by the F/O trying changing level using V/S? That only works on descent, in climb you stall, or get close.
Not always Ned. I often use VS in a climb if levelling off at low level after take-off to reduce the rate of climb, and also when changing from feet to metres and need to climb maybe only 100 or 200 feet VS is better to avoid the large thrust changes that come with using other modes.
I do agree though that most of the time VS is not a good idea for climbing, and certainly in this case it appears it was not the most appropriate mode.