Cambodia, UN Sign Agreement on Phase II of Decent Employment for Youth Joint Programme

Cambodia, UN Sign Agreement on Phase II of Decent Employment for Youth Joint Programme

Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT) has signed an agreement with four UN agencies namely ILO, UNESCO, UNICEF and UNIDO with support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to implement the second phase of the Joint Programme on Decent Employment for Youth (DEY) in Cambodia.

The agreement, inked here yesterday, aimed to continue to promote decent job for youth and reduce inequality in the country.

According to the MoLVT, the total fund for the DEY-Phase II is US$8.48 million, of which US$4 million is provided by the SDC and the rest comes from the core funds of participating agencies, other donors, private sector and the Royal Government of Cambodia. The project will last for four years from Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2023.

The programme will provide marginalised and vulnerable young people with an innovative education package that includes technical skills, entrepreneurial skills, soft skills and business skills as well as guidance for skills in need to ensure that they can meet the labour market requirements and be ready for work with quality.

Ms. Pauline Tamesis said that in relation to the economic and social impact of the COVID-19​ outbreak, the country is also facing a digital and demographic change. 160,000 young men and women enter the job market every year and desperately need the skills and ability to deal with them.

The Phase II programme will benefit private sector participation, including the Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations (CAMFEBA) in the mission of facilitating school-to-work change and reducing the inconvenience of skills of young people in Cambodia, she added.

Mr. Ith Samheng expressed his delight to see that during this difficult time, development partners of the country as well as international development partners are working together to support vulnerable young people in Cambodia to overcome the challenges, and build a bright working future.

The DEY-Phase II aims to support young women and men in Cambodia so that they can have more productive opportunities by ensuring that they are able to meet the labour market’s needs and to be ready. Some 170,000 young people (50 percent of them are women) will directly benefit from this second phase of DEY programme.

In order to achieve the highest level of cooperation in the second phase, DEY will focus on all activities in four areas including tourism, agribusiness, construction and manufacturing.

Moreover, the programme is also intended to contribute to carrying out the Royal Government of Cambodia’s policy in response to COVID-19, especially to helping address people’s work and income issues.