Officials Expect More Jobs for People in the Next Mandate

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Millions of Cambodians are expected to get jobs in the forth mandate of the Cambodian government, according to top officials. They addressed that from 2008 onward, there will be more big foreign investment companies starting their business operations in Cambodia.

Oum Mean, Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT), said that due to peace, progress, political stability and more big foreign investments companies investing in Cambodia, millions of Cambodian people will be having works in the second or third year of the forth mandate of Cambodian government which will be began from 2008 to 2013.

Besides many local and foreign investment companies had been operating in their business in Cambodia since the second and third mandates of the Cambodian government, Mean said recently more new big foreign investment companies opened their business operations in Cambodia. Those new big foreign investment companies included Ream Resort Development, a French company, spending US $250 millions to invest in Sihanoukville and plan to complete construction in 2010; Koh Puos (Cambodia) Investment Group Ltd that investing EUR 330 millions in Koh Puos areas in Sihanoukville; Korean GS Engineering and Construction Company that investing US $20 millions on mineral research in Takeo province; and other big investments that just started ground breaking-ceremonies to begin their business operations in Cambodia.

“This is a golden opportunity for our Cambodian people to find works with these companies in future,” he said. “But, in order to achieve this objective, we have to correct our education programs from now on in order to adjust to the current and future’s jobs marketing.”

Mao Pounthyroth, Program Coordinator of the Youth Council of Cambodia, which is a Non-Government Organization, said about 70 of Cambodian youth was still facing with unemployment.

According to her observation, Pounthyroth said among ten students who completed study in universities, there was only three people who could find works in Cambodia.

She also addressed that the students were difficult to get the works because they were not qualified and had no work experience in responding to the private companies’ position requirements and criteria. On the other hand, their education backgrounds were not replied to the jobs marketing in Cambodia.

Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Council of Ministers, said it was very important for students to get the right training, otherwise they would not be able to get jobs even though they graduated.

He told students at the Certificate Handing ceremony organized by the University of Human Resources in Phnom Penh on June 12 that in order to respond to the current jobs marketing in Cambodia, Cambodian government especially the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) had to correct the universities or institutions’ study curriculum to be fitted the needs and requirements from private companies and entrepreneurs in Cambodia.

Pa Meng Hok, Director of the Office of the Statistics and Information for the Higher Education Department at MoEYS had set out comprehensive strategy on education as expressed in detail in the education sector support program for 2001–2005.

He said that the strategy aimed to enhance capacity of human resources with high technical and scientific skills that effectively respond to labor market needs in terms of entrepreneurships, high creativity, responsibility, discipline, morality, virtue, professional ethics, and honesty in an effort to promote development.

The ministry would also continue to strengthen its partnerships with the private sector and the national and international community to enhance and improve the quality of education services both technical and technical training and in higher education consistent with international standards and development needs of the nation, he added.

Chhieu Veyara, Program Assistant of the ILO, noted that due to the continuous progress and political stability, more Cambodian people were getting employed.

He said that, “If the peace and political stability remained better and the flow of foreign investments continued to increase every year, many Cambodian people will be benefiting from the development and every one will have work in future.”

Oum Mean said that according to MoLVT’s reports, currently, there are millions of Cambodian people had jobs with local and foreign companies in Cambodia, in which more than 600,000 people had jobs with the industry companies, 400,000 people had works with garment factories, 300,000 people working with tourist sector and others hundred of thousands of the people working with agro-industrial companies (rubber plantation), transportations and constructions, and other NGOs.

According to Sok An, about 5,000 people were employed with the government’s ministries per year while another 3,000 people were retired every year in Cambodia.

However, he said that due to the growth and increasing of big foreign investors, more Cambodian people would have works in Cambodia by 2015.

Furthermore, Sok An said that government planned to establish a “Working Professional Agency” for the people in the forth mandate of the Cambodian government.

He pointed out that the “Working Professional Agency”, which consisted of the involved ministries, especially the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and MoLVT aimed to find out the works for all Cambodian people.

He said that the Council of Ministers would also helped MoEYS and MoLVT to seek for information about requirements, people demands and skillful people from foreign investment companies.