This study aimed to identify the current skills of Cambodian garment workers, whether or not they wanted to gain new skills and, if so, what those were. The results revealed that the greatest percentage – 60 – had acquired sewing skills, followed by quality control and packaging skills. More than two-thirds were also able to read, write and calculate, and could use the internet and social networks. Well over half – 67 percent – did not want more skills training […]

In 2019, 61 percent of the population living in rural areas, 76 percent of whom rely on agriculture as the main source of income and livelihood, sustainable rural and agricultural development is paramount to the Cambodian economy. National Strategic Development Plan 2019–2023 forms the basis of the national approach for strengthening the agriculture sector to generate jobs, ensure food and nutrition security, expand agricultural exports, reduce poverty, improve rural livelihoods and revive rural areas towards achieving sustainable and inclusive development […]

Modernisation brings new economic and social challenges around the globe. In this era of the knowledge economy, knowledge and skills have become valuable assets for national development. Many countries have been working out how best to enhance their knowledge and skills pool. Focus has recently turned to competency-based training (CBT), which is believed to enrich students with practical competencies relevant to labour market needs and thus enhance their productivity and, ultimately, national economic growth. The CBT is characterised by a […]

To address the problems of skills mismatch, skills gaps and low-skilled labour that is hindering Cambodia’s economic development, the RGC issued the 2017 Internship Policy. Part of a larger endeavour to link providers of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to private firms, the project aimed to give TVET students real, workbased experience. This paper aims to scope the fundamental structures and characteristics of these internship programs. With the participation of 14 private firms (responsible for 25 interns) who […]

In recognition of the importance of a well-trained workforce for socioeconomic development, the Rectangular Strategy Phase IV has put human resource development at the forefront of the Royal Government of Cambodia’s (RGC’s) development priorities (RGC 2018). The Industrial Development Policy (IDP) 2015-2025 was adopted as a guide to advance Cambodia’s manufacturing industry as a key economic sector for sustainable and inclusive high economic growth, and to overcome the skills gaps and shortages in skilled labour that are purportedly a bottleneck […]

University accountability in Cambodia, in both a theoretical and practical context, is ruled by complexity and there is no common understanding of what it means and how it should be assessed. This study examines how accountability in Cambodian universities is oriented towards different accounting constituencies – the government, the market, academia and international/supranational platforms. Semistructured interviews were held with 29 deans, experienced in both academic and non-academic affairs, with data supplemented from secondary sources, such as institutional and policy documents. […]

This qualitative study aims to explore how faculty members at Cambodian universities conceive their academic identities, engage in different types of scholarly roles and perceive the organisation of the academic career system. It offers the following highlights: i). Cambodian academics develop their identities in relation to three forms: disciplinary, functional and social; ii). With an obvious dominance of the roles of teacher, Cambodian academics, in general, are more of a disciplinary knowledge transmitter or conserver, rather than a knowledge producer. […]

This paper maps Cambodia’s participation in Electronic and Electrical (E&E) value chains using trade statistics. It also conducts SWOT analysis based on both qualitative and quantitative data from a E&E firm survey, from which three major conclusions are drawn. This paper argues that E&E production in Cambodia has expanded rapidly with countries in different development levels featuring coordinated and complex production networks. Companies in Cambodia have joined E&E value chains since 2005; yet the scale, scope, and depth of production […]

Numerous studies have identified the importance of a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem in stimulating and sustaining innovation and entrepreneurship. Local entrepreneurial ecosystems are made up of both formal and informal institutions, which include legal, economic, institutional, political, social and cultural factors. As well as providing various supports, including funding and incubation programs, higher education institutions create a space at the soft skills level that inspires entrepreneurial spirit and influences entrepreneurial orientation. Yet, although some studies have explored the development of the […]

Youth make up one-third of the Cambodian population. This generation was born after the Khmer Rouge years and has grown up with the idea of regular competitive elections in a multi-party system. The youth cohort forms an increasingly significant proportion of the national electorate. This report analyses the results from a nationally representative survey of Cambodian citizens’ family and community relations, political attitudes, priorities and future expectations. It aims to examine Cambodia’s emerging young generation and its implications for future […]

Cambodian higher education finance is archaic and inappropriate for creating a robust and responsive higher education system. The customary practice of line item budgeting is also obsolete. Many countries in the region have long moved towards block grants and some have recently incorporated performance-based funding. In Cambodia, bureaucratic financial management has created many loopholes and obstacles, including slow disbursement of funds, excessive and rigid regulation, and ineffective and efficient use of resources. However, any move towards new funding modalities must […]

Compared with those of its more advanced ASEAN peers, Cambodia’s higher education system is still in its infancy. Its higher education governance, financing and financial management are neither sophisticated nor robust enough to deliver high-quality, relevant higher education to the society and economy. Higher education institutions have mushroomed amid inadequate regulation, supervision and support to meet national needs. The current legal framework for higher education has perpetuated an inefficient, fragmented and reactive regulatory regime. Similarly, the development of the subsector […]