AKP Phnom Penh, September 14, 2026 --

Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Sok Chenda Sophea has urged young people to focus on developing their skills as investors reconsider their activities to keep pace with the evolving economy.

“For many years, Cambodia has had a strong competitive advantage in attracting investment, namely an abundant, young, and affordable labour force,” he told the opening of a National Career and Productivity Day exhibition at Koh Pich on Saturday.

“I understand this attractive factor well, because I was directly involved in attracting investment to Cambodia for some 25 years,” the former Secretary General of the Council for the Development of Cambodia said.

But “what brought investors to Cambodia in the past may not be certain to keep them with us in the future,” he said.

INVESTORS RECONSIDER

“The world has changed, technology has evolved, competition has increased, so investors must also reconsider their future activities or project operations.

“In this context, affordable wages will lose their attractiveness. Amid intense competition, productivity is becoming the determining factor.

“Productivity does not mean working more than before. It means working better than before with higher skills, more modern techniques and more effective management.

BUILDING SKILLS NOW ECONOMIC POLICY

“This is why skills development is no longer just a social policy, but an economic policy, and ultimately a policy for sustainable growth.”

Appealing directly to young people attending the exhibition, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “Please don’t just seek jobs. Strive to build your skills to be ever sharper. One day, employers will be the ones coming to seek you out.”

H.E. Sok Chenda Sophea noted concrete actions by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training through technical and vocational education and training, skills development, and closer links between education and training and the labour market.

He also highlighted the Ministry’s programme to provide free vocational and technical training with allowances to 1.5 million young people from poor and vulnerable families.

TRAINING NOT AN EXPENSE

“But the Royal Government cannot achieve this great task alone,” he said.

“The private sector, employers, educational and training institutions, and youth all have roles in this task.

“For the private sector, please don’t regard training as an expense, but understand that equipping skills is an investment in productivity, as well as in the future of one's own business.

“For educational and training institutions, please move from training skills for current jobs, and strive to provide skills to respond to the needs of the future labour market.”

DIPLOMAS OPEN DOORS, SKILLS ENABLE

He also urged those who passed their high-school exams last week to learn more about needs of the labour market.

“Orient yourselves in accordance with your desires, dreams, and family capacity and avoid continuing your studies and taking up skills following others that are contrary to your own desires,” he said.

“While the diploma you have just received can be considered as the opening of a door, skills will give you the ability to seize good job opportunities.”

Those who failed the examination should seize the opportunity to build their future as well.

“At this exhibition, you can learn more about technical and vocational skills studies, which is one of the best options you can consider for continuing your studies and building your own future,” he said.

By Sao Da