The challenge of insufficient manpower was among the primary problems afflicting the hospitality industry in the Kingdom, a Tourism Ministry workshop under the Secretary of State of the ministry at a Phnom Penh hotel last week concluded. A consultation workshop, organised by the Hospitality Kampuchea Steering Committee (HoKa SC) under the leadership of Pak Sokom, Secretary of State, Ministry of Tourism, also Chairman of HoKa Steering Committee, had the objective of training tourism professionals. The tourism qualification framework was designed to act as a comprehensive roadmap for tourism vocational education and training institutions.
The workshop held at Cambodiana Hotel aimed to prepare, train and enable the professionals to do justice to the needs of the job market. The seminar had the support of Swisscontact. The first challenge facing hospitality training in the Kingdom, is the lack of vocational training schools, said Chuob Ratana, Director of Tourism Development and Planning and Head of the HoKa SC’s secretariat.
There are about eight NGOs running schools in Cambodia which are able to provide a new workforce of approximately 1,000 people per year. Some technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions under the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLTV), mostly in Siem Reap are able to provide 100-150 professionals per year, while the demand for workforce is expected at closer to 180,000 professionals by 2025. Lack of qualified master trai.
