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(1) Jobs that abide by law and offer skill training throughout the country
Job creation in our country is based on a quantitative and qualitative approach. What is quality work? Quality work has several indicators. Firstly, it is the kind of work/job that abide by the law […] not just looking for any jobs and not abiding by the law or the rights of workers […] We cannot create jobs that would pay high salaries (but workers) become slaves […] That is why we allow right to form unions up to the grassroots to protect rights. Secondly, provide opportunities for workers to receive higher skill training, better opportunities […] Currently, we have created and expanded the ability to attract more investment in high-skilled industries so that people can learn and train basic skills for long-term economic development. This means that quality work/job is not one that is quick and dirty, quickly opened and quickly closed, while the factory is no more in a year. It is (a) long-term job (with) career training for people […] As for quantity, it means increasing (a large numbers of job), not only in one place, but throughout the country […]
(2) Stimulate local economic growth through exploiting technology and creating job opportunities for people
Initially, (industrialization) started in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, because of the infrastructure, electricity, water, and nearby. However, after we have complete peace, we promoted development in the provinces […] As of present, as (we brought) industry and jobs to those (distant/formerly disconnected) places/provinces, the service economy – hotels and shops of all sorts – has flourished and those provinces are no longer dependent on passerby anymore. This is what we have achieved in increasing the quantity and quality of jobs (throughout the country). Therefore, we must maintain social security and stability, macroeconomic stability, to make our country a place that welcomes investment, whether foreign or domestic, to stimulate local economic growth and exploit technology, and create more job opportunities for the people […] During the period of rising oil prices, the Royal Government decided to increase the wage by $2 and a temporary additional allowance of $2.50 to ease the burden on workers. The Royal Government has worked with the private sector to help solve challenging issues – more or less, to ease the difficulties of the people […]
(3) Knowledge, health, and work will exploit potential to the fullest
As of the first quarter of 2026, the number of people registered with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for health care under the voluntary contribution system has increased to 3,640,000, or equivalent to 20.68% of the total population […] The cost of health care in many foreign countries is expensive. Without insurance to help pay for it, it would be impossible to afford. NSSF is like insurance. I told people that in Cambodia, you only pay 15,600 riels per month (for it). You may ask around where you can buy health insurance for US$4 a month […] You may also ask whether this level of (payment) is profitable? The state does not need profits from the people. The important thing is to find a formula that can help build the capacity in which people have access to health care coverage when needed […] (We put this formula is action) so that most people can receive comprehensive treatment at some level. Knowledge, health, and work are the three (important) elements. (1) A person who has knowledge, but his health (is bad) cannot do much for the country […] (2) if the person’s health is strong, but s/he does not have enough skills, and knowledge, s/he can only contribute to some extent to society […] (3) having health and knowledge, but without suitable job opportunities, we cannot use our resource to the full potential. These are the three major goals that the Royal Government for many terms has tried to accomplish and will continue to do so […]
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(4) Educational pathway program provides additional options for high school students to enter job market quickly
The (implementation of a new educational pathway program, aimed at providing additional options for high school students adjacent to the special economic zones or industrial parks and who want to enter the job market quickly) is important. We are implementing it from high school onwards, to guide the students either from the beginning or referring to those who have completed secondary school […] The Ministry of Labor (and Vocational Training) and the Ministry of Education (Youth and Sports, must work together). I have said this since before the establishment of 7th legislative term Royal Government. Now, we have put forward the principle and started to implement it on a trial basis […] I have commanded a study of this principle to (open up opportunities) for students who are in grades 8 or 9, and who would not wish to go to grades 10, 11 or 12 to study in another pathway to have technical skills from (learning in vocational skills for) 3 years. When they finish, there possess a level of qualification equivalent to a Baccalaureate’s degree. Later, they can study to get a bachelor degree […] We are preparing young people who do not wish to continue studying in high school to study (vocational skills for) 3 years […] (along with this) we will have industry-oriented human resources […]
(5) In industrial sector, technological training should be in line with requirements
This solution ensures our (workforce) effectiveness. I would recommend that the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports implement this task this year so that they will be able to work on this evaluation basis to foresee (what extent) we could move up the level. The important thing is to publicize it so that there is understanding. I think the current population are different from those of my generation. Most of my generation people want to work in the civil service, and not in the private sector (because they thought) that “private sector work is to be someone’s servants” […] We want to train people from one generation to the next to have more opportunities and to be oriented in the right direction […] This is the AI era. Should we aim our people to create drone companies or AI companies, we need to prepare and/or train them from now […] We can start from the beginning so that this path has more options […] People could learn general knowledge all the way to grade 12, and then go for other things. If they could not, in the industrial sector, we need to teach technology that is in line with the requirements, and not low-skilled industries, because even the textile sector has changed […]
(6) Still having high birthrate, Cambodia needs capable people to make it strong
Since the early 1990s, (the country received only) low-level garment investors. Big brand companies that require high-level skills had not yet come. Now, the talent of our workforce is good […] Investors would not chosen to invest in Cambodia if, firstly, there were no clear infrastructure and policy, and secondly, there were no Cambodian talent that could do the job […] We have a population of 17 million people, in percentage terms, the young population is high compared to some aging society countries […] What is aging society? It means that the number of old people is living longer and the number of births is decreasing. In Asia, by 2050, some countries will no longer have population growth, but decline. Formerly, they talked about high population growth at 5% a year. Later, population growth dropped to 1% or 0.5% a year. Now, they talk about population decline because fewer people are born than those who die. We are still having a high birthrate […] We will work hard to train our human resources. (The country) is small, and we must be strong. We need many capable people so that our country can be made strong […]
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(7) Cambodia will observe military conscription according to needs of the army
The Cabinet has just approved and submitted to the parliament a draft law on military conscription. This law only concerns men. Some people are confused about this. Since this law has not yet been passed by the parliament and the senate, and/or received the royal decree to enact it into law, I would like to explain it primarily, and there may be some changes (possible). I see that some of you have taken (this topic) to comment. It is correct in concept, but the implementation is slightly different […] The age of conscription spans between 18 to 25 years old […]
Some countries do not require all people to do the obligation at the same time (but according to) the needs of the army. For example, there are 5 million people of the conscripted ages. They do not call the 5 million (to fulfill the obligation) and to join the army at the same time. They take only the number according to the needs of the army through registration or lottery […] Those who are not being picked up there are exempt, and wait until next year to go through the process again, that is, until the age of compulsory service is over. For Cambodia, we will recruit according to the needs of the army […]
This procedure is being considered and discussed. There are two formulas – the voluntary formula and the compulsory formula. Why is the obligation voluntary? Volunteering means that some would choose to fulfill military service right away and some would say they want to do it in a selected year […] So, the priority is to select those people who volunteer, not to disturb others who are at work […] If volunteering is not enough, then it comes to compulsion […]
(8) Going through military service, conscript soldiers become a potential workforce
What are the benefits of the military conscription? […] Some countries, like France, have abandoned military conscription at one point, and are now starting to do it again because of the necessity required by the situation/national defense sector. The conscription law is not just for strengthening the national defense sector […] education, getting young people to do military service, I am just saying, is not something that is done just to strengthen the national defense sector. It has benefits for society (as well). Young people receive training, discipline, and morality […] they would have learned, and disciplined for two years, when they leave, they become good human resources […] because firstly, they are disciplined and orderly, and secondly, they have skills […] Therefore, young people, who go through military service, are capable of (good jobs) and become a potential workforce […] This is what I call “training in military schools, but the benefits go to the whole society” […] When they finish, they go out to work, and remain as reserve soldiers until the age of 45 […] These conscript soldiers, when they finish training, enter their two-year duty, have the same rights as regular soldiers, receive various benefits (including) allowances, and training in any specialized schools in the army, all provided and covered by the state […]
(9) Strengthening national defense, human resources, and socio-economic development must go hand in hand to keep peace
The most important thing is learning to lead. In the army, we work as a team, so we need to learn leadership and be responsible. This is the key to human resources […] We want people who are trained to work, cooperate, be responsible, and have leadership qualities […] from the bottom up, from the operational level up […] The word “leadership” is not just about having a high role, but about having a responsible character […] We talk about peace. (Peace is) a great blessing (that) brings us to this hour. Do you know that peace is firstly difficult to find and secondly difficult to keep? In a context where the world is changing, to protect peace, we must be strong. No one is coming to protect us. (We must) be strong in the field of national defense and the national economy. The economy is strong so that there is financial resource to strengthen (the national defense sector). Citizens have a strong life, strong knowledge, that is how we can protect peace […] We used to focus on internal wars, but the context (of the region and the world) has changed, requiring us to have the ability to defend the national peace. Therefore, strengthening the national defense sector, strengthening human resources, and strengthening the socio-economic system must go hand in hand. What the government has put in place at this time, including the military conscription law, is moving in this direction […]
(10) Those juvenile delinquents to help engineering corps dig trenches as part of their punishment and/or reeducation
While talking about the training of conscript soldiers, let us look at the case of juvenile delinquents […] I would like to ask His Excellency Keut Rith (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice), His Excellency Sar Thet (of the National Police) and His Excellency Vong Pisen (the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces) to study the legal aspect […] The fact that we arrest those juvenile delinquents and put them in prison, it will be a waste to feed them without jobs. When they come out, some are reformed, some are not […] Let us think about the level of reeducation they need to be able to serve on the front lines. Not for them to hold the gun but to help the engineering corps digging trenches […] Put them in 3 to 6 months (work) depending on the severity of the sentence […] In other words, let them know how those in the army, relatively at their age, are standing in danger (to protect the territory) while they – the delinquents – waste the opportunity to cause trouble in the country […] I would suggest we also look into the fact that some young delinquents are the children of village heads or people in positions of power. I think they should be bound by their parents’ obligations. If they make a mistake the first time, let their parents come and help reeducate them. If they repeat mistakes many times, we may have to look to the role of parents […] For those delinquents who fight with the police, causing injuries to the police, they should be put on a very strict punishment […] do not let the police be afraid of the gangs […] If they cause injury to a police officer, they should be given the maximum penalty of 4 years. No complacence […]./.
