Youth forum

In your opinion, Why are so few young people interested in studying technical skills?

Chan Raksmey,

in his fourth year of studying information technology at hte Royal University of Phnom Penh:

These days, young people prefer studying accounting and marketing over technical skills because the latter can be quite difficult.  Learning vocational skills requires a high degree of commitment, and there aren’t many job opportunities.  The job markets for finance and marketing, on the other hand, are wide open.  And technical jobs don’t pay that well.

Ky Srey Mom,

in her second year of studying banking at the National University     of Management:

I think kids may be concerned about making good money, which you can’t with a technical job. And some families don’t want their children studying vocational training because they think it won’t provide a stable future.  Personally, I’m not pursuing vocational training because my talents aren’t suited for technical work.

Bun Huy,

a representative of Le Centre Kram Ngoy, an NGO that is trying to raise Cambodian technical expertise:

Teenagers don’t study technical skills because they don’t want a challenge – they just want to do something easy.  This is why our Kingdom is still poor: we lack technical experts.  Most developing countries have lots of technical specialists driving their economic growth. Our teens don’t understand the advantages of learning technical skills at all.

Hou Vudthy,

deputy of the Jobs Department at the Ministry of Vocational Training:

Young people think they won’t have a comfortable life if they study technical skills.  Those that do study vocational skills are usually from poor families who cannot afford university.  Second, the government doesn’t encourage   teenagers to study technical skills. Technical schools do exist, but the poor can barely earn a living – so how can they be expected to afford school?

Tann Chantara,

mathematics lecturer at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia:

The young people I’ve talked to say the complicated education system and sparse job market discourage them from wanting to learn technical skills.  In my opinion, many people don’t value these skills; they look down on the profession of automobile mechanic, for example. But if you tell people your kid is a doctor or an engineer, they will exclaim that he or she has a bright future.