Cambodia and ADB Celebrate Success of Skills for Competitiveness Project and Expand Support for Human Resource Development

H.E. Heng Sour, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training, received a courtesy call from and held a working discussion with Eisuke Tajima, Director of the Human and Social Development Office at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters, on the morning of October 20, 2026, at the Ministry. Mr. Tajima was leading a delegation on a mission to Cambodia. The meeting aimed to conduct a country-level consultation on human and social development, present the successful progress of the Skills for Competitiveness (S4C) project, and discuss progress in implementing the Skills for the Future Economy Skills Development Program (SFESDP).

H.E. Heng Sour highlighted the close cooperation with ADB, including its continued financial support, valuable technical expertise, institutional capacity building and knowledge exchange through the Skills for Competitiveness project. As the project is set to conclude this October, the Ministry welcomed the project implementing agency’s assessment that it had been “successful” in the draft project completion report.

He also outlined progress under the SFESDP, which is central to reforming TVET to prepare for the future, as Cambodia prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status and continues to implement its national development agenda aimed at attracting high-value-added, knowledge- and technology-based industries. In preparation for a skills development project plan for 2028, the Ministry reaffirmed its readiness to implement various initiatives and its commitment to advancing future projects to modernize the TVET sector and improve digital literacy, ensuring that Cambodian youth have the skills and capabilities needed for a future technology-driven economy.

In addition, ADB’s investments have helped improve TVET institutions and achieve a number of notable results, including the successful implementation of a pilot project on work-based learning (WBL). H.E. Heng Sour emphasized that, to ensure the sustainability of the benefits from these investments, the Royal Government is committed to allocating national budget funding from 2027 onward to continue supporting newly established diploma programs and work-based learning initiatives. These play an important role in supporting the implementation of relevant national policies, which will help meet growing demand for skills in areas such as automation, digital skills and electric vehicle (EV) technology.

H.E. Heng Sour thanked ADB for its strong commitment to developing Cambodia’s workforce and said the Ministry stood ready to continue working together to ensure the effective implementation of ongoing programs and the timely preparation of future initiatives that respond to the needs of Cambodia’s economic transformation.

In response, Eisuke Tajima expressed his deep appreciation to the Minister for sharing Cambodia’s forward-looking vision and praised the progress of fruitful cooperation between ADB and the Royal Government in developing a skilled workforce in Cambodia. During visits to TVET institutions, he saw efforts to provide training that responds to labor market needs and to encourage private-sector participation in expanding trainees’ knowledge and employment opportunities. Recognizing the Ministry’s proactive efforts, ADB reaffirmed its support for the long-term development of Cambodia’s workforce.