The Provincial Training Board: Fostering Cambodia's Skilled Workforce for Economic Growth

The Provincial Training Board (PTB) is a key actor in implementing the national TVET policy, the driver of change for economic growth at the sub-national level, and the key legal actor for TVET decentralisation. PTBs are mandated to coordinate and provide direction on TVET, develop TVET programmes, govern, monitor and evaluate, set objectives, assess labour market needs, and link training programs to the local economy and their skills needs.  

Key Activities of the PTB:

1. Preparing qualitative and efficient TVET Development Plans: The PTB takes charge of formulating TVET System development plans in the respective provinces that respond to the needs of each province. By conducting assessments of the provincial economic growth, the PTB ensures that the TVET direction remains responsive to the demands of the local industries.
2. Facilitating and guiding TVET direction: The PTB assumes a significant role in driving the TVET direction by working closely with stakeholders, including provincial authorities, educational institutions, civil society organisations, communities, and employers. By fostering collaboration and open dialogue, the PTB ensures that TVET programmes effectively align with the province's economic growth needs.
3. Compliance with national-level policies and guidelines: The PTB diligently adheres to and achieves the National Training Board's (NTB) objectives. By consistently reporting to the NTB, the PTB provides quarterly, semesterly, and annual updates on its progress.

SDP’s primary role in strengthening the PTB

SDP facilitates, coaches, and supports the relevant partners in revising, developing, and implementing the institutional set-up and operational processes of the PTBs. Close communication and coordination will be fostered between the relevant TVET departments at the national and sub-national level, such as the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, the provincial administration departments, other PTBs, NTB, etc., to participate in the process of reactivating and strengthening the PTB.

A particular focus will be on enhancing dialogue and cooperation with the provincial administration on various levels and vertically and horizontally, to cater for the socio-economic development of the provinces and the NTB to develop better coordination mechanisms for an inclusive TVET system on the national level.

Therefore, it is foreseen to support annual meetings of the NTB with the active participation of the PTBs of the target provinces aiming at increasing the integration and strengthening the position of PTBs in the system.

Looking Ahead:

Facilitating and coaching relevant partners will strengthen the developed institutional structure, roles, responsibilities, and functioning of PTBs, as well as coordination mechanisms among key stakeholders and anchoring the respective necessary processes into their systems. Also, it improves the capacity of the PTBs members to develop and implement annual operational plans, strategic actions, standard operating procedures, monitoring, and reporting mechanisms to fulfil their core tasks better, more productive, and more efficient.

All capacity-building measures, and the development of supporting documents, such as guidelines, operational plans, standard operating procedures, and tools, are designed so that they can be replicated in other PTBs in Cambodia.

In the future, the PTB's activities positively impact the Cambodian economy and society. The PTB helps create new job opportunities and placements within the TVET sector by focusing on skills development. Skilled workers trained through PTB networks have contributed to higher productivity levels, improved productivity, product quality, and enhanced industry standards.

The PTB remains committed to providing quality TVET programmes that effectively address the needs of the labour market. The PTB continuously strives for improvement by conducting comprehensive assessments, supporting training providers with direction, promoting TVET to the public and fostering collaborations with the private sector.