Original report from Phnom Penh
22 November 2007
Cambodia has at most 60,000 jobs and at least five times that number looking for work, creating widespread worry, a group said Thursday.
"Currently, my parents very often remind me to look for jobs," a marketing student named Bora told VOA Khmer. "I also try my best, but still I fail. I am very worried."
Between 300,000 and 350,000 job seekers are competing for 50,000 to 60,000 jobs, according to the Cambodian Youth Council.
"Everyday our youth are extremely worried about lack of employment when they finish both high school and college, because the job market in Cambodia is too small," said Mak Sarath, president of the Youth Council. "And if they want to find jobs in companies or other organizations, these workplaces require two to three years' experience, and they do not have that."
The problem is not just related to the size of the job market, but a lack of qualified individuals that graduate, he said.
"Nowadays, a lot of colleges are mushrooming, especially in Phnom Penh, [and] students usually complain about the quality, which cannot meet the job requirements," Mak Sarath said. "College education should not be bachelor's or master's degree oriented, but to the job market. That means that [students] should learn to be employed, not to get a degree. So, the government, especially the Ministry of Education, should find the relationship between education and the market."
Li Somony, undersecretary for the Ministry of Education, said that not every school had low performance.
"It makes sense that the quality is low when there are too many schools," he said, "but [the quality] of some state-run schools and some others is not low."
"Currently, my parents very often remind me to look for jobs," a marketing student named Bora told VOA Khmer. "I also try my best, but still I fail. I am very worried."
Between 300,000 and 350,000 job seekers are competing for 50,000 to 60,000 jobs, according to the Cambodian Youth Council.
"Everyday our youth are extremely worried about lack of employment when they finish both high school and college, because the job market in Cambodia is too small," said Mak Sarath, president of the Youth Council. "And if they want to find jobs in companies or other organizations, these workplaces require two to three years' experience, and they do not have that."
The problem is not just related to the size of the job market, but a lack of qualified individuals that graduate, he said.
"Nowadays, a lot of colleges are mushrooming, especially in Phnom Penh, [and] students usually complain about the quality, which cannot meet the job requirements," Mak Sarath said. "College education should not be bachelor's or master's degree oriented, but to the job market. That means that [students] should learn to be employed, not to get a degree. So, the government, especially the Ministry of Education, should find the relationship between education and the market."
Li Somony, undersecretary for the Ministry of Education, said that not every school had low performance.
"It makes sense that the quality is low when there are too many schools," he said, "but [the quality] of some state-run schools and some others is not low."
24 comments:
What is a shit load of crock? We got hundreds of thousands of new jobs every years from the two digits economic growth, but if your expertise is politics, then you aint going to get no job, period.
there are no jobs for the less and non-connected. but there are plenty of jobs for the well connected. All of Hun Sen's family members has a job, even if some don't even have education or degrees.
All of Sam Rainsy's family members has a job. but my brothers and sisters living in Kampot and Phnom Penh with at least high school certificate and is fluent in reading and writing khmer, but they can't get a job.
so where are all the jobs? they are all being occupied by government official's family members. that is where they are.
in cambodia....it's not what you know....it's who you know....if u r an arse kisser u get up there quick.....each government dept you'll find that those in the high places are connected to the ruling cpp's families, they own the country, not the Cambodian people.
my relative want to work for the government but no connection and could not get in.
so they are employed by private sectors. they are however good students. So i support them as i can, make sure they have access to private university and finish higher degree with good English kills.
so we are kind of exception.
Listen up guys, the government does not focus on generating politicians jobs, they only focusing on regular jobs, get it. Currently, there are demands for support in tourist (house keeper, waiter, tourist guide, maintenace...), infrastructure (road, bridge, railroad, electrical, communication...), resource exploration, and agriculture. Thus, don't look for job as movie stars, Ambassadors, Deputy ministers, ..., okay?
8:55 look like you don't speak english or cannot comprehend the article at hand. You're the case of people who are literate but stupid.
People are complaining said nothing about Ambassadors, Dept. Ministers. They talk about market jobs etc. Aren't those the jobs that are booming because of tourism right now? Why aren't they able to get it?
Some people are just keen on making other stupid that at times they do so at the expense of their own reputation and intelligence.
May I suggest you go back and take reading and comprehension 101?
oh and don't bother responding. Cause i not sure you understand what I just said. If you do, you'll just be talking to someone else because i don't read an article twice. You know why? Cause I understand it the first time.
I m agree with 8:55, most of the graduated they want a job with a white shirt and a tie. When they apply for a job we ask them, what do you want? i want to be a manager ! really? what are your competences? i have a degree in Management......END
If they don't have the job of their dream, they just still in their dream and don't look for other opportunities....well, lets them dream.....
11:O5, I am just giving you some idea of what type of jobs to search for in Cambodia from understanding the government economic plan. If people would just study it, they would have been in better shape, but they didn't. Everyone want to learn to be King of the country by getting into politic and what have you.
Anyway, to be specific, there are "market" opportunities everywhere to support the economic growth. I mean your own business. As for marketing jobs there are number of it created but you have to be competitive. If too many people study marketing, then we'll have a surplus, and they will have to wait.
My recommendations will be road building and maintenance or anything that tied to civil engineering and electrical engineering. That will continue to expand, and the more things we build, the more things we'll have to maintain as well, ... . Thus, stop waste time with politic. Instead, spend more time planning your career to fit with the demand. That ain't easy, but your chance to succeed will be much higher.
oh please!! what happen to the future politician? When those old and stupid are going to retire?
If the younger are interested and have great talented in politic, why don't give them a try. Create jobs and internship in the government office so that they can try.
As for non-government jobs, I heard that some companies from oversea have to bring their technicians and middle management people along. are Cambodian graduates under skilled?
Well, over here if you want to be a successful politician, I recommend the following: first, you focus on your schooling and get the best grade you can get, hopefully 95%+ overall average; then you apply for low skill works, such as waiter, floor sweeper, or whatever. Keep in mind at this point you don't need big bucks, but just to survive. Then, you want to joint a political party of your choice. I would pick the most likely winner and start at the bottom, by helping to promote the political slogan or whatever. At this point, even if you are against any party policy, just ignore it. Stay with a party, make as much friends as you can, and demonstrate your ability, and try to moveup the latter overtime. And with any luck, someone in one of the ministry will choose you to work for their ministry and put you on the payroll. At this time, you can quit the low skill job, and focus on your new jobs, but don't worry about big buck yet. You are just in the door. Keep on learning, and ask question, how does a party achieve their goal. Learn, learn, learn. There are still lot of woods to chop over the next 6-8 years or so. but your potential will determine your destiny, but stay with the party for as long as you can, because you want to built a good portfolio. Then when you're ready for deputy minister or deputy governor position, then you can go with any party that your agree with or simply make you the offer.
As for technical work, we can do motorcyle and car repair and other basic stuff, but we can't hack any non popular stuff like biomedical instruments or what have you. They usually ship those things back to Thailand or singapore for PM, calibration, or repair... or have their tech come over, depending on the guarantee and service contract.
I see too many kids/young adults are on the street over there. They play game, bet on game or in Karaoke cafe, or do drugs. you guys need to get them out of the street and put them back in schools. They can become a valuable work forces.
Institute of Technology of Cambodia is not enough. you need to create a few more poly-technique and industrial Tech-school. These will create workforce in tech industry so that Cambodia will have ready skilled technicians. It is a waste for Cambodia if the foreigner company or investors have to bring their own people along. Cambodia should just need their investment. that's it.
regarding job market overall, it has not met the demand yet. The gov needs to find ways create more jobs.
Yeah, but we can only do so much with those losers. The problem is their stupid rich friends who got them in to trouble from day1 and help pay for the bar and club. The regular Khmer can't afford those luxury and usually do what ever they can; they are not waiting for their dream to come true.
Actually, the people we have can learn any company's product from the company directly. Thus, technicians is not a problem. Maybe you are talking about Engineering support. That area we are in short supply.
And, I agree with you 100% that we do need more jobs; that is why I am keep saying, "jobs, jobs, jobs", but we did created hundreds of thousands if you care to do the math.
Furthermore, the article is not very clear about the 300k-350k. Is that fresh graduate this years who seek works , or something that is build up over the years, perhaps
over the last thirteen years. I know we do have some job deficit each year, but not a lot and they do add up over 13 years. Sometime, it is hard to know the truth when the media playing political number if you know what I mean.
Happy Bonn Om Tuok (Water Festival)!
Gen. Ke Kimyan: After the holiday, the new transitional government and the transitional prime minister will be installed.
It is difficult to solve and it not a one time or one month action. Young Cambodian shall show the interest in freedom and the proud of the education you all earned.
The major problems today are the politicians and the parliament. All of the representatives or top goverment members(the so call) are party members. They are not representing peoples. They are there to ensure his party members have a safe, secure and fun jobs.
In a normal democratic system, they meet and search solution for the Jobless. Where are the Department of Labor and Dept of Education? Shall it be your jobs to help them?
The 2008 election is not far away, the 350,000 jobless shall take action by talking to party member and vote for a party that you have confident that its members will listen to you voices. Sometime you have a go along with the system.
Unless to you can protest, joint revolution group or even demonstration to get your voice heard.
I would take the last solution. No one in the current powerholder members will listen or care about you.
Good luck
see that is part of the additional problem to the society, 5:19 PM. you are in a state of denial. why don't you accept the facts and take the full responsibilities in order to minimize the problems?
it idoes not matter, really, if rich friends attract these youth to these kind of wasteful places or who report about th issues, the authorities must look at the problems. the more youth are on the streets, the more potential problems they will create, not to mention being unproductive citizens.
In America, for example, after school start, officers petrol around. if the officer see any youth is not in school which he/she should be, the officer will have a word with the youth and contact the parents. So that is just to give you an idea of it is done.
it is not that you did not do the jobs, but you just hit the wrong targets by shifting your hummer here and there based on some unreasonable excuses.
To get job you want is not easy, not only in Cambodia but even the US. Nowaday, we are living in a rapid globalization which means the world will become smaller and smaller because of the exchanges of technology, cultures, skills, opinions and ideas. As globslization moves faster, we have to be well prepared for this great challenge. The goal of education now is to prepare students for the global economy not just for local businesses as usual. If we want to be employed soon after grad, we have to search job market first; which jobs are most demanded in our country, local areas, and even foreign companies. If we just go to university to learn what you want without thinking about job market, our chance of employment is so slim regardless where we live. We have gone through this experiences already. Cambodia is a small less developed country, so the scope of job market is too small in compare to the industrialized countries such as the US, Japan, and EU.... The probability of unemployment in Camobodia is much higher than those countries. More than 5% of people in the US and 10% of people in Europe are still unemployed, how about Cambodia? We must prepare ourselves to the challenge of global economy if we want a good living.
Here is one way to solve job crisis and the misguided ambitious of Cambodian students!
I suggest that the fucken Cambodian government set up an economic and job outlook organization to project what kind of jobs that are really in demand in the future and other information such as starting salary, working condition, qualification, demand within the private and public sector...and share these economic and job data with all the fucken the colleges, the universities, and of course Cambodian students!
Now I can't imagine for any Cambodian students to spent 1 year or even 5 years of their life learning something knowing that they would never find a job in their life! For God sake and get over with all the fuck guessing game, Dirt poor Cambodian student need real reliable information that are back up by economic condition and the demand of job outlook in the future!
As far as I am concerned these Cambodian students are being misled by AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave government institutions about the real demand in the job market because AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave institutions knew that dirt poor Cambodian students are not afraid to pay for their degree just be somebody and to be noticed by Cambodia society even if it means there is no job! Ahahhahhah
You can say it is about saving face because I know too damn well when it is time for marriage the opposite side of the family will always ask each other about the level of education and of course what they do for a living!
You know I came to realize that those Cambodian students especially male with some sort of degree or even a fake one will have a better chance in scoring with the farmer daughters! Ahahhahhahahh! I never thought Cambodian educational system could be in such a perverted way! Oh well! This is Cambodia educational system under corrupted leadership!
Yes, good idea, 12:03, that will help. I mean forecast what we need to help people plan their career. I thought these things should be obvious if people just open our eyes instead of sleeping all of the time. I mean we are snapping up all sorts of school buildings, business buildings, entertainment parks, ..., and we build lots of roads and power stations. I just can't believed that people can't even see things that is right in front of them. We are going to have to tell them every little thing. How are we ever going to get any place with that type of ignorant is beyond my comprehension, I have to tell you.
No, I am not ignorant, 8:15, what you are talking about is compulsory law to make kids go to school and penalize the parent if they failed to make their kid go to school, as mentioned by dr. Lao a couple days ago here, but compulsory law is communist because it forced people to do think and penalized those who failed. It is just un-democracy. You can start with one law, and then it leads to another, and another, on and on, and the next thing you know is you have no freedom but to do what the State want you to do, which is what is communist is all about.
Anyway, the reason why westerner used compulsory law to make people go to school is not really for you to get knowledge for your own well being -- Let's face fact: if you don't want to be a doctor. Do you really think any school can turned you in to a good doctor? No way, it is up to individual who want to be a doctor -- What westerner want is to brainwash everyone to think alike; that way, they don't have to forced you to do anything because you will do thing their way naturally, and you wont complaint about lack of freedom.
You don't need compulsory law. Let people chose their own destiny and let them learn the value of education by themselves. For example, let's say you screw up and become a poor slob. Are you not then going to motivate your kid to go to school?
Thus, our real problem is not lack of law, but extreme poverty. Many of us has problem put food on our table and required our kids to pitch in and missed their education. Lucky for me, we weren't that poor, but we weren't that rich either. I still have to pitch to buy my own book and lunch for school. My parent can't hack all of us either. And this is nothing new for us: my dad did the same, my grandfather did the same, ... . That is their pitch into the family as time required.
Agreed, 10:53!
As for Cambodia unemployment rating I would estimate between 20-30%, and that is why I alway said, "jobs, jobs, jobs," which is very painful.
The hardest part was population control in the beginning, but I see people have less kids now days. Thus, there is some hope that we'll bring our jobless rated down to acceptable level by 2020 or so, and on a condition that we can maintain a good economic growth as in the recent years. First, what will happened is our yearly job deficit will be reduced to zero by 2012. After that we will have surplus jobs to knock down the unemployment that build up and accumulated over the long years that we failed to produce enough job for the population growth. You may have to do some detail analysis to know what I am talking about though.
A standard and a system is needed to be setup, 10:57 AM. with the setup standard, you can plan better career goals, predict the future job market trends, better plan workforces, ... etc. Otherwise, you are hitting the nails in a darkness.
you expect people to think like you think based on your emotion. Very unmodernized!!
Well, better standard and system is not free, and we will have it when the time comes.
nothing is free!! STUPID
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