Officials confirmed there were more than 20,000 participants at the job fair on Saturday organised by the National Employment Agency of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, which was held in an effort to educate job seekers about current opportunties.

Sokkhon David, acting director of information collection and advertising at the National Employment Agency, said the job fair attracted more than 20,000 visitors, of which 15,000 were job seekers.

He said this second annual job fair showcased 38 main stakeholders inclulding universities, banks, microfinance institutions, recruitment agencies, companies and factories to display their products and services.

“We were well organised this year compared to last year because there were many Japanese companies that participated to raise awareness among Cambodian people that Japanese companies enter Cambodia, and they are prepared to work here to benefit our national economy,” said Sokkhan David.

Kea Sophoin, manager of human resources and administration for the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ), said the PPSEZ participated in this fair to show the potential of jobs in the zone because there were newly registered companies entering the area which would need more employees.

“There are  newly coming companies and there is a lack of workers. There are all kinds of employment needs including office staff and workers,” he said.

He said the PPSEZ has attracted new Japanese companies and because of this the demand for employees who speak Japanese is high. So far, there are about 10,000 workers in different factories in the PPSEZ, but 10,000 more are needed.

During the job fair, between 700 to 1,000 participants came to visit his booth, said Kea Sophoin.

“In my personal view, this fair is good because it provides opportunities to newly graduating students or people who have little work experience to seek new jobs and to those who want to change jobs,” he added.

New figures from the Japanese Embassy show the country’s investment in Cambodia has surged this year, due to a rapid rise in wages in other ASEAN countries. Japanese investment in the Kingdom looks set to top $300 million this year, up from $75 million last year.

However $205 million of this is due to the huge Aeon Mall development in Phnom Penh, which is due to start construction shortly.

In 2010 the figure was about $35 million, and $15 million in 2009, according to the embassy.

Chin Sothy, a fouth year student of engineering at the National Institute of Vocational Training who went to the fair at Diamond Island on Saturday, said she does not have a job and she wanted to seek a job related to her skills.

“I think that it is good because it provides good information to the participants. I came to find a job. It gives me the opportunity to apply for a job at the booth,” she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at [email protected]