Cambodia has appealed to Germany – a country renowned for its skilled technicians and engineers – to provide vocational training to support the Kingdom’s growing industrial sector, a Commerce Ministry official said yesterday.

In a meeting earlier this week, Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak urged German Ambassador Joachim Baron von Marschall to consider establishing a vocational training program to improve the skills of local factory workers.

He said Cambodia’s goal is to attract light industry manufacturers, and this type of investment creates a demand for skilled labour.

As an example, the minister said Cambodia has grown to become the world’s second-largest exporter of bicycles. To support the industry, the country needs skilled workers such as welders, parts assemblers and machinery operators.

“In order to promote Cambodian industry, workers need to have skills,” said Pao Hengdara, the ministry’s chief of cabinet. “The minister wants to urge more German investors to come, and for Germany to provide vocational training to promote our industrial sector.”

According to Hengdara, the German ambassador said he would seek the approval of his government to initiate vocational training programs.

Adelbert Eberhardt, country director GIZ Cambodia, said the German development agency had so far only provided vocational training for small projects. However, he said the training could prove beneficial to Cambodia’s industrial growth.

“It’s a good idea,” he said, “but first we need to set up a [bilateral] agreement and study which field is the priority for training.”

A GIZ consultant will meet with the Cambodian government in October to discuss the proposal, he added.