ADB supports Cambodia to boost technical, vocational education

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping Cambodia to improve its technical and vocational education training (TVET) system and make the country more skilled and educated workforce.

The Japan Special Fund, through ADB, is providing a grant of $800,000 to carry out an in-depth analysis of the TVET sub-sector and prepare a feasibility study that will lay the groundwork for the project. The Cambodian government will provide an additional $160,000 for a total project cost of $960,000. The current TVET system lacks a statistical information base to make it more responsive to the labor market. The quality of the system also needs considerable upgrading. The government is short of resources to remedy the situation.

The grant will be used to conduct a thorough analysis of the current status of TVET, determine future needs and prepare a project that will strengthen the system, making it more relevant to the needs of the country's rapidly growing urban economy and underdeveloped rural economy. This will improve the earning potential of the country's youth and, thereby, enable the Government to achieve its goal of economic growth and poverty reduction. The preparation work will include analyzing current economic trends, demand for and supply of labor, institutional capacity to manage and deliver technical and vocational training, and the roles of various stakeholders.