The National Employment Agency (NEA) of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, in collaboration with the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC) and the Skills Development Programme (SDP) of the Swisscontact organisation, is planning a series of career forums in four provinces.
The labour ministry explained that the “Job opportunities and workforce readiness” forums will offer around 15,000 positions to young people, students and other job seekers.
The forums will be conducted in four target provinces, Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham from May 31 to June 6.
“The forum aims to bring tens of thousands of job opportunities, internships and skills training information to job seekers, youth, students and other members of the public, as well as providing recruitment opportunities for companies which are seeking additional staff,” said a May 29 ministry statement.
“There will also be knowledge and experience sharing from expert speakers at the forum for job seekers, youth and students on how to prepare themselves for the job market to increase their employment opportunities,” it added.
The forum will begin in Battambang province on May 31 at the Sangke River Theatre, then move to Siem Reap province on June 2, at Build Bright University.
Kampong Thom province will hold the forum on June 4 at the Cambodian University for Specialties (CUS) and finally it will and Kampong Cham on June 6 at the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia building.
“Therefore, we suggest that the people of these four provinces prepare their CVs, so they can apply for jobs with their favourite enterprises,” said the ministry.
Kin Phea, director of the International Relations Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that the forums seemed like an excellent opportunity for young Cambodians to find their first job, or changing to a new one with a higher income.
“Some people complain about the difficulty of finding work, but there are many companies that need manpower. This contradiction may be the result of available positions not being shared widely enough,” he added.
He encouraged the creation of more job fairs at the national level, in order to match people with appropriate employment opportunities.
He also urged young Cambodians to acquire as many professional skills as they can, and to avoid pursuing qualifications that have no practical value.
“In addition to practical degrees, they should have soft skills, like a solid command of a foreign language, and information technology skills, as well as character traits like honesty, perseverance and patience. This will enable them to obtain decent, well paid jobs,” he said.
