innovATE – Cambodia: Desktop Study

However, agricultural and technical training in Cambodia is of uneven quality and quantity, despite the industry's importance to the economy. The education system in Cambodia faces several challenges, including weaknesses in pre-university and university levels, as well as in the vocational and non-formal education sector. These challenges have resulted in a significant gap between the skills that students graduate with and the skills demanded by employers. The agricultural sector in Cambodia is highly natural resource-based, with the majority of the workforce (59% of the population) employed in this sector. The workforce profile in Cambodia is characterized by a large supply of unskilled labor, with about three-quarters of the employed population engaged in unskilled labor and living in rural areas. Most unpaid family workers have low levels of education, and the country attracts low-skill, labor-intensive industries due to its large supply of unskilled labor and low wages and labor costs. The government of Cambodia has prioritized human and institutional capacity building and development of agricultural research and education in its 2010-2013 Strategy for Agriculture and Water and its "Rectangular Strategy" for growth, employment, efficiency, and equity. Building capacity in agricultural training and education (ATE) will help to stimulate innovation, entrepreneurship, and knowledge-sharing in Cambodia, contributing to wider development goals of improved food security and poverty reduction. innovATE, a program aimed at strengthening institutions that train and educate agricultural professionals in developing and emerging economies, is conducting preliminary background research into the ATE capacity needs of key institutions in Cambodia. The program's first steps in Cambodia include a country study highlighting best practices and ATE capacity building needs, a literature review, and an initial data collection visit to build trust and relationships with stakeholders and establish an ATE network in-country. The ultimate goal of this trip is to build an informed scope of work for a full scoping visit in 2013/early 2014. The innovATE program seeks to identify key institutions in the ATE system in Cambodia and the roles they play, assess critical challenges facing the ATE system, and identify potential ways forward for innovATE to build capacity in ATE in Cambodia. The program aims to connect vocational and technical schools and agricultural university graduates with potential employers by identifying pathways for increased dialogue and informing educational institutions of the skills demanded by employers. Additionally, innovATE may work with faculty at Cambodian educational institutions to update and upgrade agricultural curricula, develop a "teaching & research" culture, and create English language certification programs.