11 November 2007By Keo Pech Metta
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
A number of NGO officials who are working on Cambodian youth issues indicated that among Cambodian youth, especially those who completed their degrees in high schools and universities, the majority of them cannot find a job currently, and that this issue will bring hardships to the Cambodian society in the future if there is no timely resolution to this matter.
Mak Sarat, a coordinating official for the Youth Council of Cambodia (YCC), indicated that, based on civil society’s observation on the youth, each year between 300,000 to 350,000 Cambodian youth are looking for jobs to make a living, however, among all these youths, only 50,000 to 60,000 of them can find work. Therefore the joblessness problem is a major issue that the government must resolve.
Mak Sarat indicated: “The government is responsible as the ruler of the country, and it should organize to create a large job market by attracting investments, or by sending the youths to work overseas based on clear regulations. The youths themselves should put in their effort by considering themselves as part of the labor force, they should obtain the ability to produce, just like factory workers who must learn expertise, and these youths should have a true purpose and be honest.”
Regarding the joblessness issue among high school and university students, Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), said that it is necessary for the government to further expand the job market for the people because from one year to another, the number of jobless people keeps on increasing, especially among the many tens of thousands of youths who completed their schooling, but ended up facing joblessness instead.
Rong Chhun added: “Each year, several tens of thousands finish school, but only about 10% of them find jobs, and those who are jobless amount to 90%. This problem is one that the government leader must bear responsibility for, if he neglects this issue and allows Cambodian students to remain jobless, our society will face problems in the future.”
In response to the issues raised above, Oum Mean, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MoLVT), said that his ministry, like the government itself, is working hard in the past and currently to attract various companies to invest in Cambodia, such as garment factories and other type of companies, in order to create a job market for the population, including students who completed their studies.
Oum Mean added that, besides this, the government is also looking at overseas markets, such as South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, etc… so that Cambodian workers can go to work there. Currently, there are about 20,000 Cambodians who are working overseas in various countries.
Oum Mean said: “Therefore the ministry (MoLVT) is putting its effort so that investors remain and that they will continue to invest, and we are also attracting other investors to invest in Cambodia. When there are investments, there will be factories, companies, farms, or service industry such as the hotel industry for example, then our people will have jobs.”
Chiming on this issue, Osman Hassan, the MoLVT secretary of state, indicated that the provision of overseas jobs benefits also those with low level of education, because his ministry has set up good relationships between the ministry and companies which also include a short training for workers before they leave to work overseas.
Osman Hassan said: “In fact, it is the ministry (MoLVT) which puts its effort to seek a job market, both for workers with low level of education, and for students with higher education. In fact, since we put in our effort, there are a number of countries where our workers went, such as South Korea and among these, there are some students who went also. However, the salary in South Korea is high, in average, the lowest salary is between $500 to 600, and some even get up $1,500. Therefore, for our students, when they hear about going to South Korea, a lot of them want to go work there also.”
Mak Sarat said also that in order to resolve the joblessness issue for Cambodian youths who are currently facing difficulties, a number of NGOs, including the YCC and the Youth Stars of Cambodia, are setting up a program to provide volunteer service by high school and university students so that they can gain experience with various organizations and institutions, or within the community. These opportunities will provide an assets for these youths to help them find a job in the future also.
Mak Sarat indicated: “Normally in Cambodia, experience is needed, even if we finish school, if we don’t have experience, it’s hard to find a job. Therefore, now there are volunteers in 9 of the provinces and municipalities who constitute a network of volunteer youth from the YCC, there are almost 2,000 participants, and in 402 communes, we can see that when they participate in either the YCC or other NGOs (volunteer work), they have the opportunity to find work.”
Osman Hassan indicated also that for the MoLVT and the government, besides the help they provided to find a job market for the population, they are also cooperating with local and overseas investment companies to expand the search for job markets with various countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Arabic countries.
Regarding the job market issue, Robert Zoellik, President of the World Bank, who recently visited Cambodia, said also that Cambodia needs to provide a job market to at least 300,000 people each year in order to respond to the jobs demand in the country.
Mak Sarat, a coordinating official for the Youth Council of Cambodia (YCC), indicated that, based on civil society’s observation on the youth, each year between 300,000 to 350,000 Cambodian youth are looking for jobs to make a living, however, among all these youths, only 50,000 to 60,000 of them can find work. Therefore the joblessness problem is a major issue that the government must resolve.
Mak Sarat indicated: “The government is responsible as the ruler of the country, and it should organize to create a large job market by attracting investments, or by sending the youths to work overseas based on clear regulations. The youths themselves should put in their effort by considering themselves as part of the labor force, they should obtain the ability to produce, just like factory workers who must learn expertise, and these youths should have a true purpose and be honest.”
Regarding the joblessness issue among high school and university students, Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), said that it is necessary for the government to further expand the job market for the people because from one year to another, the number of jobless people keeps on increasing, especially among the many tens of thousands of youths who completed their schooling, but ended up facing joblessness instead.
Rong Chhun added: “Each year, several tens of thousands finish school, but only about 10% of them find jobs, and those who are jobless amount to 90%. This problem is one that the government leader must bear responsibility for, if he neglects this issue and allows Cambodian students to remain jobless, our society will face problems in the future.”
In response to the issues raised above, Oum Mean, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MoLVT), said that his ministry, like the government itself, is working hard in the past and currently to attract various companies to invest in Cambodia, such as garment factories and other type of companies, in order to create a job market for the population, including students who completed their studies.
Oum Mean added that, besides this, the government is also looking at overseas markets, such as South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, etc… so that Cambodian workers can go to work there. Currently, there are about 20,000 Cambodians who are working overseas in various countries.
Oum Mean said: “Therefore the ministry (MoLVT) is putting its effort so that investors remain and that they will continue to invest, and we are also attracting other investors to invest in Cambodia. When there are investments, there will be factories, companies, farms, or service industry such as the hotel industry for example, then our people will have jobs.”
Chiming on this issue, Osman Hassan, the MoLVT secretary of state, indicated that the provision of overseas jobs benefits also those with low level of education, because his ministry has set up good relationships between the ministry and companies which also include a short training for workers before they leave to work overseas.
Osman Hassan said: “In fact, it is the ministry (MoLVT) which puts its effort to seek a job market, both for workers with low level of education, and for students with higher education. In fact, since we put in our effort, there are a number of countries where our workers went, such as South Korea and among these, there are some students who went also. However, the salary in South Korea is high, in average, the lowest salary is between $500 to 600, and some even get up $1,500. Therefore, for our students, when they hear about going to South Korea, a lot of them want to go work there also.”
Mak Sarat said also that in order to resolve the joblessness issue for Cambodian youths who are currently facing difficulties, a number of NGOs, including the YCC and the Youth Stars of Cambodia, are setting up a program to provide volunteer service by high school and university students so that they can gain experience with various organizations and institutions, or within the community. These opportunities will provide an assets for these youths to help them find a job in the future also.
Mak Sarat indicated: “Normally in Cambodia, experience is needed, even if we finish school, if we don’t have experience, it’s hard to find a job. Therefore, now there are volunteers in 9 of the provinces and municipalities who constitute a network of volunteer youth from the YCC, there are almost 2,000 participants, and in 402 communes, we can see that when they participate in either the YCC or other NGOs (volunteer work), they have the opportunity to find work.”
Osman Hassan indicated also that for the MoLVT and the government, besides the help they provided to find a job market for the population, they are also cooperating with local and overseas investment companies to expand the search for job markets with various countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Arabic countries.
Regarding the job market issue, Robert Zoellik, President of the World Bank, who recently visited Cambodia, said also that Cambodia needs to provide a job market to at least 300,000 people each year in order to respond to the jobs demand in the country.
21 comments:
The problem with Youths is that they are not paying attention to their school works because they allowed themselves to be expoited by Ah Coward Sam Rainsy to think that they are King of Cambodia. And to make thing worse, they have no experiences to compete in the high demanding market.
Well, your highnesses, you had a good time partying with politic, didn't you? So stop crying and learn to take your own responsibility, you brain-death idiots!
2:38
the problem with you is you use your small head inside your pan when you speak. That is why you have no clue the cause of jobless.
if ah kvak Hun Sen stays in power for another term, there are even less jobs created but more gangts and more evils.
I agree with 2:59! The situation in Cambodia is not improving and as long as AH HUN SEN remains in power and there would be fewer jobs and less opportunity in Cambodia!
Wrong, jobless was caused by Ah Sam Rainsy destroying Khmer economy and image which deterred lot of big time investors.
Anyway we are not talking about the high unemployment in Cambodia, but why Ah Sam Rainsy's monkeys (Youth) can't get a jobs? And the answer obviously is because they had been all crippled by Ah coward Sam Rainsy. Had they focus on their school works, up to 25% (not 10%) of them should be able to get jobs right our of school.
I am shocked about the comment 2:38 an 3:45 PM against our khmer heroe SAM RAINSY.
The disgust person must be yuon or kgmom bamreu yuon that want to distroy his honesty reputation,
specially when election is approaching.
Sam Rainsy and his party are the only one to save our country from the YUON an his lackeys YUON XEN.
I wish KI-Media not to publish this kind of comment anymore.
I believe similar article was written a few months back. It was something along the line that education in Cambodia become in-sequential as the society is unable to absorb its youth into the work force due largely to Cambodia underdeveloped economic.
Cambodia has the people, but not the economic infrastructure to engaged its youthful population.
Whether this is the fault of the current government, perhaps, yet the problem is deep root and went further back as far as 1950.
Our society put considerable amount of prestige on class or caste. Educated people has always been equated to gentility (patrician) and associated with profitable jobs and vested by power. But as our society and people elevated education, they often overlooked the economic policies within the country.
There are amble evidences and researches throughout the world, but particularly in the U.S., South Korea, Japan or Europe on economic policies and job creation.
In the U.S. for instance, the United States government put considerable amount of energy and time to developing policies that encourage business creation. It found that about 65% of the employment are in the small business sector.
This is true also in Cambodia, however, government must encourage and invest more in small business ownership. Policies and transparencies should be set to create low interest rate loan to those Cambodian interested.
Equally, as the country is slowly moving away from war mentality, the government should consider youth "work corp". The work corp are used very effectively to counter rising unemployment. Back in the 1930s during the depression, the United President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the "CC". Conservation Corp. The "CC" put million of unemployed young men to work building roads, water irrigation, planting tree and so on.
In return for their services, these young men earn a living stipend, room, board and clothes as well as certified for valuable skills in the area of construction, metal work, masonry and so. Also, Cambodia retain a fit population that are readily available for military services should the need arises.
3:45 PM, those less then 10% who get jobs are employed by ah Kvak Hun Sen gangs fools who defend ah youn interests. other than that, forget it!!
we talk about a system that creates jobs, open up opportunities to growth and also open the door for future leaders for everyone.
H.E. Sam Rainsy is only cadidate for the democracy of Cambodia.
They have been eating the nation resource since they were born, now that they became productive they still can't produce because of no jobs available. That means they have to continue eating more of the nation resource. How will Cambodia gets out of poverty this way? Cambodia government got to have vision. They cannot just deal with current issues. We need to think ahead.
hmmm...a courageous man with up to 2,000 specially-trained assasin body guards; and a coward who has almost nothing??? oh, damn with the twisted logic.
shhhh...it takes long time...long, very long, long time for our democracy to work
Wrong, 1:04, democracy has been working in Cambodia for years now. It is just that it work against Cambodia instead of for Cambodia.
Well then, why we only employed only 10% to serve Ah Yuon interests? It would make Yuons a lot happier if we employed more, wouldn't you say?
Bullshit, 12:39, Cambodia economy grows two digits in the last three years, and that means hundreds thousands of jobs were created, but these kids were useless because they only know Ah Sam Rainsy's evil Politics. These kids think they are king of Cambodia. They only know how to rule, but they don't know how to work.
I don't like what I see in the picture. Not too many people have books, pens and papers. They should not allowed those people in school because this will hindered those who want to learn seriously. We do something about that.
correction: We should do something about that.
sad, isn't it? the government without vision... doom to fail someday.
Nope, people have their own vision. Those who work hard in school have the same vision as the government has for them, and those who didn't has the same vision as Sam Rainy has for them. That is to be a jobless King of Cambodia.
Yes indeed Cambodian leaders has the vision but some has two and some has one ,the one that has only one and the third grader and do not speak the foreign languages should be out and let the one who has two ,three vision and educated should be in.
Thank you
Sorry, 12:32, but the name of our game is not Quantity but Quality. Thus, PM Hun Sen is in forever.
forever my ass!!!
Well, the longer Hun Sen stays in power, the more experiences he will have to run the country, and we are not going to toss that out the window because we (Khmers) are not abusive with our good assets.
Therefore, if the opposition can't win the next couple elections, they are done with politic. There is no way for them to catch up with Hun Sen desirable experiences and knowledges to run the country.
I do agree with this comment:
"The longer Hun Sen stays in power, the more he will get experiences to run the country".
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