Phnom Penh, Cambodia – June 5, 2024 – GGGI, Geres, TAFTAC, and CGTI, in collaboration with Sevea, organized a roundtable meeting on “Green Job Market in Cambodia”. Funded by USAID, the roundtable meeting aimed to promote awareness of the requisite skills for circularity and explore solutions to bridge the skills gap in the Garment, Footwear, and Travel Goods (GFT) industry. The meeting was joined by representatives of the GFT industry (mainly garment factories), policymakers, academia and development partners.
For the whole morning, the roundtable meeting was a knowledge sharing and discussion platform. The meeting began with a welcome remark by Ms. Shomi Kim, GGGI Cambodia Country Representative and opening remark by Mr. Sam Oeurn Ke, Project Management Specialist-Agriculture/Economy of USAID in Cambodia.
Ms. Shomi Kim, GGGI Cambodia Country Representative, said, “Developing the skills required for the renewable and clean energy sectors is critical to ensure that the market has sufficient human resources with qualified expertise and access to training programs. I am excited to see the successful completion of the first generation which is the backdrop of today discussion and lesson learn among our members.’’
After the opening remark, the roundtable meeting continued with the presentation on USAID-funded project background by Mr. Mahfuzur Rahman, GGGI Project Lead. Then, representatives from Sevea and Geres presented a comprehensive analysis of Cambodia’s green job landscape. This included identifying sector trends, labor challenges, skill gaps, and key clean energy occupations. After the engaging presentation, the roundtable meeting expanded the discussion into the roundtable joined by all GFT sector representatives, project implementers and was moderated by Geres. During the roundtable discussion, participants were able to find out more the importance of green jobs and the latest trends in the sector. Additionally, the forum also looked into the challenges and barriers in providing training or developing green job program in Cambodia.
The roundtable meeting is a key activity under “Creating Jobs in Sustainable Garment Sourcing” project financed by USAID via Nathan Inc. The two-year project aimed to address the capacity gap which was identified during the implementation of the four-year EU-Switch Garment project (2020-2024). Thanks to the support by USAID, the first Advanced Diploma in Energy and Sustainability welcomed it first cohort in 2023 and produced or upskilled 55 green workforces for the garment industry in Cambodia.
Ms. Chanthoeun Doeuk (Stella), QA Compliance Officer, PPSEC who was also one of the trainees under the advanced diploma course said: ‘’The Roundtable Meeting was engaging and I am thrilled to be part of this conversation. I am proud to expand my knowledge related to integrating clean energy transition, skilled workforce and particularly. I am also glad to share experience of my factory in the project and how we was able to expand our workforce and demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship.’’
A wrap-up speech by Mr. Md Mahfuzur Rahman summarized key takeaways which highlighted the importance of joint collaboration among all key public and private stakeholders. Roundtable also agreed that creation of green jobs is highly related to creation of an enabling environment for green growth including policy formulation, institutional capacity building and awareness raising. The roundtable was concluded with a closing remark by Ms. Hilary Eaton, Senior Associate, Cadmus, who reaffirmed the commitment to capacity building and sustainable practices in the GFT sector. This roundtable meeting paves the way for future initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable energy practices and job creation in Cambodia’s GFT sector. The insights gained will be critical in bridging the skills gap and fostering a greener GFT industry in the country.