A workshop held by hospitality training program (HoKa) in Siem Reap province supported by Skills Development Fund (SDF) on March 5. HoKa via FB
The Ministry of Tourism’s Department of Tourism Development Planning and the Skills Development Fund (SDF) plan to provide support to tour operators in Siem Reap province to enhance Hospitality Kampuchea (HoKa) skills training.
SDF – an initiative piloted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2018 and officially launched in January 2024 – aims to “cultivate skills training culture” through financial support to realise Cambodia’s vision of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and high-income one by 2050.
HoKa – a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Swisscontact – is a training programme designed to support skills development in tourist attractions across the Kingdom.
Tourism development planning department director Chuob Ratana made the announcement following the conclusion of a dissemination workshop on the HoKa programme for the province, attended by approximately 100 representatives from the tourism industry, tourism vocational training schools and the private sector on March 5.
He mentioned that the project would offer financial aid to tour operators who have applied for skills instruction through SDF, and that the support would be in the form of a counterpart fund covering up to 70 per cent of the total proposed education fee.
"There is no time limit for this assistance project. They will continue to provide support as long as the sector requires it,” Ratana added.
According to the provincial administration, the ministry’s HoKa Project Management Committee aims to reach out to several target administrative regions, including Phnom Penh and the provinces of Siem Reap, Kampot, Preah Sihanouk, Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham.
The Siem Reap Provincial Administration stated that HoKa will serve as a mobiliser, connecting tour operators and tourism vocational training institutions with the SDF and supporting the HoKa programme and local teachers for successful project proposals.
It said the collaboration will contribute to the enhancement of tourism professionalism and human capital development.
According to the provincial administration, the cooperation will focus on three main objectives: firstly, improving the instruction of tourism professional skills, including competence development for trainees before entering the job and employees transitioning to new roles, such as apprenticeships and on-the-job or online learning; secondly, enhancing the implementation of the SDF in coordination with tourism operators and associations to train professionals according to labor market needs and recent developments in the sector; and thirdly, strengthening the capacity of teachers at both the national and sub-national levels to increase human resources capable of ensuring the sustainability of training.
Over the past six years, the SDF has provided $2.89 million in loans to support tourism training and has instructed a total of 3,619 professionals, as per the ministry.
