Launch of the Skills Development Programme (SDP) Phase 2

The Official Launching Ceremony of the Skills Development Programme (SDP) Phase 2 took place on Monday 20 July 2020 at the Hotel Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra and presided over by H.E Pich Sophoan, Permanent Secretary of State of Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, H.E Pak Sokhom, Secretary of State of Ministry of Tourism, and Ms. Nadia Ottiger, Deputy Head of Cooperation of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). This is the four-year programme implemented by Swisscontact and INBAS in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT) and the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and funded SDC.

The overall goal of SDP is for disadvantaged young women and men and low-skilled workers from five target provinces, Kratie, Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, Ratanakiri, and Mondulkiri, to gain access to decent employment and increased income. The project pursues two main objectives: 1) the Cambodian TVET system will be supported to become more effective in the target provinces, 2) Disadvantaged young men and women, and low-skilled workers will improve their employability through technical skills, soft skills and entrepreneurship skills.

The programme consists of four intervention areas:

1. TVET School Development: Quality improvement of Provincial Training Centers (PTCs) through a holistic and collaborative school development process; 2. TVET Innovation Lab: Fostering innovative approaches for skills development and developing solutions for underlying problems in the labour market in collaboration with the private sector and other service providers; 3. Training for Disadvantaged Youth: Providing labour market-based quality technical, soft and entrepreneurship skills training to poor and disadvantaged youth, and linking beneficiaries to gainful (self-) employment; 4. Hospitality Kampuchea: Industry-based hospitality training for low-skilled workers and capacity building for business owners and managers from the hospitality sector as well as trainers from Provincial Departments of Tourism.

In total, around 12,000 beneficiaries will be directly and indirectly reached by SDP skill training interventions in phase 2. Around 5,000 disadvantaged youth and low-skilled workers will directly benefit from improved access to quality vocational skills training and linkages to employment. Almost 7,000 disadvantaged youth will be reached indirectly through training providers in other provinces as SDP increasingly focuses on institutionalisation and sustainability by collaborating closely with the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training and the Ministry of Tourism. The collaboration will be formalised in Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with both ministries, and they will both be co-chairing the SDP Steering Committee together with SDC.