Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – On January 19th, the Cambodian government held a grand launch ceremony at the Sokha Hotel in Phnom Penh to officially launch the "Skills Voucher" national project. This project, with its core innovative incentive mechanism, aims to strengthen vocational skills training for the informal economy workforce, broaden employment channels, continuously improve the income levels of practitioners, and contribute to the high-quality development of the informal economy.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Aun Pornmoniroth, attended the ceremony and presided over the event. Approximately 300 people, including high-ranking government officials, representatives from development partners, and private sector representatives, gathered to witness the project's launch.
According to the project plan, any self-employed individual, micro-enterprise, and their employees who successfully register on the "Cambodia Informal Economy Practitioners Digital Training System" will automatically receive an electronic skills voucher worth 600,000 Cambodian Riel (approximately US$150). Voucher holders can independently choose from a variety of assessed and selected professional training courses at authorized institutions cooperating with the Skills Development Fund (SDF) to precisely enhance their skills.
Registration data shows that as of January 16, the digital training system had received over 274,000 registration applications, fully demonstrating the urgent need for skills enhancement among informal economy workers and confirming the project's targeted approach and necessity.
In his address, Han Vandy, Minister of Industry and Technological Innovation of Cambodia and Chairman of the Informal Economy Development Coordination Committee, emphasized that social security and skills training are the two core cornerstones of sustainable development for the informal economy. He stated that the government will provide comprehensive support to registered workers, including skills training subsidies, tax incentives, special financial services, and inclusion in the National Social Security System (NSSF) to enhance their resilience, as well as assisting micro-enterprises in completing digital upgrades and strengthening their core market competitiveness.
Pampara, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Skills Development Fund (SDF), further explained that the project focuses on training for key technical positions and enhancing soft skills, paying particular attention to the re-employment skills needs of overseas returnees, striving to promote a precise match between labor market supply and industrial development needs, and contributing to improved employment quality.
In his concluding remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmoniroth highly affirmed the important contribution of the informal economy to national development. He pointed out that the informal economy already provides over 85% of employment in Cambodia, making it an indispensable pillar of the national economy.
Aun Pornmoniroth emphasized that the launch of the "Informal Economy Skills Voucher" program is a key measure in implementing the "National Informal Economy Development Strategy 2023-2028," marking a substantial step forward for the Cambodian government in promoting labor force structure upgrading and regulating the development of the informal economy. This program will effectively enhance the professional resilience of workers, helping them gradually integrate into the formal economic system, ultimately achieving the dual goals of increasing national productivity and improving people's well-being.
