Role of Education in Industrial Workforce

Development in Cambodia

Lynn Salinger
Senior Economist, AIRD

January 31, 2007

What do schools have to do
with garment factories?
Education & Industrial Workforce Development

• Cambodia overwhelmingly agrarian

• Yet faced with transformation of its economy into industry
and services
• Around two-thirds of the urban workforce works in service
and manufacturing sectors, according to MOEYS
• Schools facilitate these changes through education, skills
development, and career guidance services
– Basic education develops literate & numerate basic workforce
– Technical and vocational education provides skills-training for
employability
– Secondary education channels skilled graduates into the workforce or
into industry-relevant, post-secondary programs
– Post-secondary education delivers higher level skills-training for
employability
Background

• Garment industry represents one of largest single-

industry employers in Cambodia
• Yet after changes in world trade rules for garments in
2005, fear that jobs might leave Cambodia
• Solution? Raise productivity of factory workforces to
retain employment
Garment Industry Productivity Center
Technical assistance project of U.S. Agency for International
Development, implemented by Nathan Associates, with support from
Werner International and AIRD
Productivity Workforce development
• Training programs and advisory • Workforce assessment
services on • Job descriptions and competency
– Time study and textile basics frameworks
– Work study in the garment • Education and training map to
industry identify institutions potentially
– Production techniques & control interested in collaboration with
systems GIPC
– Production supervision
• Salary survey for all garment
– Garment industry management industry job categories
principles
• Training of factory trainers of
sewing operators For further information, see
www.gipc.org.kh
 Workforce Development System

Workforce Demand:
Employers

Workforce Supply: Workforce Supply:

Youth, Students Education & Training
Providers

Market Conditions &

Policy Environment
Assessment of Cambodia Garment Industry Workforce
System, June 2006

• Interviews & focus group meetings with

– GMAC
– Individual factories
– Workers
– Youth, secondary students
– Post-secondary students
– Ministry of Labor & TVET
– Education & technical training institutions (see next page)
 Workforce Assessment Questions Asked
• What skills do employers seek for production and management
jobs?
• How do employers identify qualified job applicants?
• What kinds of pre-employment training exist?
• How do education and training institutions contribute to the
development of Cambodia’s garment industry workforce?
• How do youth and university students measure their future job
options and where does garment sector employment fit into that
equation?
• What skills do workers aspire to acquire through their work?
• How well does current garment industry labor market in Cambodia
function and what can be done to improve its depth and industry
responsiveness?
 Findings
Supply
• Virtually no pre-employment
training for sewing operators
• Post-secondary training
opportunities do exist in
management & technical
areas, but with few direct
references to garment industry
• Factory training opportunities
exist in specific skill areas
• Skilled Cambodian graduates
do not consider the garment
industry as a possible career
path
Demand
• Bulk of factory employment in
Cambodia = sewing operators
• Small % of employment in
every factory = skilled workers
• Salary differentials for higher
skilled jobs
• Employers cannot find mid-
level, skilled Cambodian
technicians & managers
• Therefore recruit from outside
Cambodia, at higher cost
Globally, Jobs Exist at Many Levels

• Pre-production

• Production

• Administration

• Post-production
One Multinational Clothing Company, Many Career Options

• Consumer research • Loss prevention (security)

• E-commerce • Merchandising
• Financial services • Planning & distribution
• Field management
• Product development & design
• Global compliance &
social responsibility • Production
• Human resources • Strategy & business development
• Information technology • Supply chain
Jobs in a Cambodian Garment Factory
• Factory manager
• Input inventory manager
• Production planning manager
• Production planning engineer
• Cutter
• Cutting line leader
• Cutting manager
• Sewing trainer
• Sewing operator
• Sewing line leader
• Production supervisor
• Buttoning line leader
• Finishing supervisor
• Production manager
• Quality inspector
• Quality assurance supervisor
• Safety inspector
• Industrial engineer
• Industrial engineering manager
• Time study technician
• Mechanic
• Maintenance manager
• Human resources
• Compliance officer
• Accounting
• Shipping
GIPC & Garment Industry Competency Standards

• Knowledge & educational backgrounds

• Management and technical skills
• Personal attributes

• Defined for 21 garment industry jobs

Sample Job Description: Industrial Engineer
Responsible for improvement of garment manufacturing processes (work
Job purpose study, time study, standard times setting, lean manufacturing, sewing line
balancing, process balancing, efficiency reporting, costing)
Education Bachelor’s degree (industrial engineering, garment engineering,
background production engineering, Industrial management)

Prior professional Experience in garment industry not required

experience
• Safety engineering
• Work study and time study
• ISO-9001/2000
• Lean manufacturing
Knowledge • Production planning & control
• Maintenance engineering
requirements • Industrial cost analysis
• Quality engineering
• Total quality management
• Plant layout and machine layout
• Line balancing

Management Conceptual thinking, change management, cost management, analytical

thinking, forecasting, planning & organizing, decision-making, follow up,
skills presentation

Calculations, ability to motivate others, English literacy, marketing, safety

Technical skills awareness, continuous improvement, computer literacy, R&D
Survey of Education & Training Institutions

• 3 public universities & institutes

• 16 private universities & institutes
• 8 public vocational training institutes

• Implemented by Economic Institute of Cambodia,

September 2006
 Potential Education & Training Partnership Survey

• Size of faculty & student body, degrees offered

• Departments & courses taught in business &
manufacturing
• Research and consulting conducted by faculty on
business & manufacturing
• Student-employer interactions
– Internships
– Summer employment
– Post-graduate employment outreach
• Interest in developing garment industry-related curricula
 Locally Available Education & Training Opportunities
Post-Secondary Study
• Management
– Royal University of Law and Economics
– National University of Management
– University of Cambodia
– Pannasastra University
• Technical study
– Institute of Technology of Cambodia
– Norton University
• Vocational training
– Preah Kossomak Polytechnic Institute
– National Polytechnic Institute of
Cambodia
Factory Training
• GIPC
– Methods to improve productivity of
factory operations
• Cambodia Garment Training Center &
GMAC
– Basic operator training, quality
assurance, drafting, lean
manufacturing,…
• Mekong Private Sector Development
Facility (IFC/WB)
– Training of production line supervisors
• Better Factories Cambodia (ILO)
– Training re globalization, workplace
cooperation, quality, occupational
health and safety, productivity, human
resources and working conditions, and
continuous improvement
Few Garment Industry Study Opportunities in
Cambodia

• No garment industry or manufacturing sector training

exists at formal education institutions in Cambodia
• Thus, few opportunities to learn
– Global textile & garment industry
– International trade and economics, Trade logistics
– Production costing
– Production planning
– Industrial engineering applications to garment industry
– Work study
– Labor standards compliance
– Etc.
Specialized Training Opportunities in Region

• Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Institute of Textiles

and Clothing
– Degree programs
– Short courses
• Hong Kong Clothing Industry Training Authority
– Certificate programs
– Advanced diplomas, Hong Kong Institution of Textile and
Apparel
• Singapore Textile and Fashion Training Center
(TaF.TC)
– Courses and advisory services
Spreading the Word: Career Forum 2007

• Organized by the French-Cambodian Chamber of

Commerce
• June 1-2, 2007, National Cultural Center
• Private sector companies & NGOs participate to offer
career path information, advise on job hunting, and
make connections for recruiting
• Last year attracted 4,000 students, graduates, and
young professionals, and many of the country’s top
private sector employers
• GIPC will organize participation from the garment
industry for this year’s Career Forum
Cambodian Universities/Institutes & GIPC:
Areas of Possible Collaboration
• Existing management & engineering courses could be enriched
by garment industry- related case studies and exercises
• New curriculum input could be used to update existing classes
or develop new courses
• Examples could be developed, drawn from the garment industry
for teaching of practical skills (e.g., cost-accounting, time-study,
plant management)
• Guest lectures from industry experts could supplement regular
teaching offerings
• Factory tours could be organized to demonstrate practical
applications of skills-building
Possible Areas of Mutual Interest

GIPC goal Possible education sector goal

• Improve the linkage between
industry needs and
educational offerings
• Increase the ability of
Cambodians to pursue careers
in the garment industry
• Expand the workplace
relevance of existing course
offerings
• Expand range of career
options considered by your
graduates

Let’s talk!
For Focus Groups

• Contact with employers

– How does the education/training sector interact today with employers to
learn about knowledge & skills requirements for graduates?
• Priorities for collaboration
– Of the options presented, what kinds of input from GIPC would be most
useful to your instructors? Are there other ways that we could
collaborate that would be helpful?
• Industrial workforce development
– How does the education/training sector view Cambodia’s long-term
workforce needs in light of economic changes, and what programs are
universities and institutes innovating to meet those challenges?
THANK YOU!