Prime Minister Hun Sen at a graduation ceremony on Monday warned recent graduates that they could be left behind if they don’t continue developing themselves after earning their degrees.

“Staying still is like moving backwards. Don’t avoid improving your capacities just because you have master’s degrees [or] bachelor’s degrees or are specialised in various fields. Strengthening your capacity is a reasonable response to the job market.

“I hope the students who receive degrees today will work hard to further strengthen their capacities because the [Kingdom’s] situation is evolving very quickly.

“Technologies develop very rapidly. So we cannot stay still,” he said, noting that Cambodia will require a more capable workforce as the economy progresses.

Hun Sen said: “When I speak like this, some people say, ‘They will only be educated to work as housemaids’ and when I go to meet with factory workers, the workers say ‘Hun Sen tries to educate people so that they can be hired as labourers’. It’s like this,” he said.

Youth Council of Cambodia executive director Im Sothy told The Post that while it was important for recent graduates to continue improving their capacities, it was equally important for young Cambodians to be optimistic regarding their career prospects so that they can enthusiastically prepare for their post-secondary education.

“If the students make a concerted effort to strengthen their capacities, they become eligible for more desirable opportunities.

“[Hun Sen] also wants university graduates to put in a strong effort to strengthen their professional skills, so that they may seize opportunities in the public and private sector,” he stressed.