Cambodia’s younger population lacks the skills and knowledge to compete in an integrated Asean, a youth leader says.
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | 07 February 2015
WASHINGTON DC— Cambodia’s younger population lacks the skills and knowledge to compete in an integrated Asean, a youth leader says.
Asean is working toward economic integration and a free flow of goods and services across the region by the end of this year.
But if Cambodians are to take advantage of that integration, they need more education and training, Pen Somony, head of Cambodian Volunteers for Society, told “Hello VOA” Thursday.
Cambodians under the age of 35 comprise a full third of the population, he said, but across Asean’s population of 600 million, fully 60 percent are youth. That creates a competitive challenge.
“If Cambodia has weaker abilities, we will lose, and we can’t compete with others,” he said.
Mr. Pen Somony, director of Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS), joins a discussion on youth and workers’ skills before Asean integration on VOA Khmer’s Hello VOA radio call-in show, Thursday, February 05, 2015. (Lim Sothy/VOA Khmer)
