The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced a US$960,000 program to support education and vocational training in the Kingdom.

The project includes an $800,000 ADB-administered grant from the Japan Special Fund and $260,000 from the Cambodian government.

Rapid economic growth and a lack of high-quality universities has left Cambodia with a serious skills shortage to meet rising private sector demand.

Cambodia is also grappling with lower secondary school enrolment.

An ADB statement says part of the project includes developing an advanced statistical model to analyse economic trends, labour supply and demand.

"The [education and training] system needs to be strengthened so it can respond to the country's rapid economic growth and the need to provide meaningful income-generating opportunities," said Sukhdeep Brar, principal education specialist with the ADB's Southeast Asia department, in a statement.