Cambodia Addressing The Skills Gap

"Publication stock no. RPT157706-2"--Verso of title page.

Cambodia's growth in the last 20 years has been remarkable and the lives of its people have improved substantially. But low-cost labour advantages on a narrow economic base have driven this growth. The country now needs to move beyond the four sectors that have dominated its economy: garment manufacturing, tourism, construction, and agriculture. Better education outcomes and higher-level skills are crucial for economic diversification and structural transformation and to sustain its inclusive growth. Labour force participation is high and unemployment relatively low, but the large majority of jobs are informal and more than a half of the employed have just a primary education or less. Addressing the problems of skills mismatch and future skills demand is therefore a priority. This joint report from the Asian Development Bank and the International Labour Organization examines constraints and opportunities for increasing productive employment in Cambodia. It can help the country exploit the opportunities its youthful labour force offers, but this window is closing fast.

The case study explores which skills and training opportunities young people need in order to gain access to decent employment in rural areas. The research was undertaken in order to develop recommendations to support the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and FAO Cambodia in developing appropriate recommendations to support rural young people, especially those of the 15 to 17 age cohort. The study highlights the limited decent employment opportunities that currently exist along various agricultural value chains in rural Cambodia. Poverty and the structural problems of the agricultural sector are the main barriers for youth in accessing decent rural employment. A substantial enhancement of the education system, as well as the provision of appropriate training services to ensure successful schoolto-work transition is seen as necessary to tackle these challenges. A well-balanced policy mix reflecting national and local circumstances can encourage employment opportunities and create an environment that enables rural youth. Building on previous research on agriculture in Cambodia, agricultural transformation requires promotion of agribusiness enterprises, support to community-managed organizations of farmers, promotion of agropreneurs, and investments in agricultural and rural development, particularly in infrastructure, energy, water, education and health. Moreover, most youth entering agriculture are self-employed and work as smallscale farmers. Therefore, the provision of skills and training in rural areas should focus on the skills required to be self-employed.

In 2017, the Royal Government of Cambodia published a new Social Protection Policy Framework (SPPF), providing an ambitious vision for a social protection system in which a comprehensive set of policies and institutions operate in sync with each other to sustainably reduce poverty and vulnerability.

Fibre2Fashion magazine—the print venture of Fibre2Fashion.com since 2011—is circulated among a carefully-chosen target audience globally, and reaches the desks of top management and decision-makers in the textiles, apparel and fashion industry. As one of India's leading industry magazines for the entire textile value chain, Fibre2Fashion Magazine takes the reader beyond the mundane headlines, and analyses issues in-depth.

This book investigates the relationship between context and leadership in post-conflict Cambodia. Building on the understanding that approaches to leadership are tightly woven within the contexts that leaders operate, the authors examine the case of primary school leadership in Cambodia. A low-income and post-conflict society rocked by civil war and genocide between the 1960s and the 1990s, the country is – perhaps unsurprisingly – faced with numerous challenges as it engages in the process of national rehabilitation and reconstruction, particularly in relation to the education system. The authors provide a comprehensive historical background to primary school leadership not only in Cambodia, but in post-conflict environments more broadly: informing school leadership preparation, development and support, and facilitating understanding of the context in which school leaders work. This book will be of value to students and scholars of primary school education and education in post-conflict countries, as well as to practitioners and policy makers.

This first OECD Investment Policy Review of Cambodia uses the OECD Policy Framework for Investment to present an assessment of the investment climate in Cambodia and to discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by the Royal Government of Cambodia in its reform efforts. It includes chapters ...