UN Analysis Final.pdf - United Nations in Cambodia

Improve the relevance of education to employment opportunities: Education contributes to worker
productivity and is fundamental to the creation of a competitive knowledge-based economy. Currently, there
is a mismatch between present and future economic needs and what young people are learning. Both early
school-leaving and the relatively low quality of education for those who remain are disadvantageous to
Cambodia’s competitive future. Therefore, priority needs to be given to school retention, expanded access to
lower and upper secondary schools, practical education oriented to employment needs and life skills training.
Additionally, there should be opportunities to integrate education with work experience so that young people
can apply what they are learning in the classroom to the workplace. Additionally, OJT programmes could
provide young people with voluntary as well as paid experiences that would expand their civic engagement,
teach principles of democracy, provide them with experiences where they would have a voice in the
community, and provide opportunities to contribute and teach practical skills. Even if today there are not
the jobs for an educated population, without education the future for both youth and the nation itself is not
bright. Education must extend past primary schooling through upper secondary school and beyond.
52 Situation Analysis of Youth in Cambodia