Gov’t seeks to send more workers to Japan

CAMBODIA plans to send more trainees and skilled workers to Japan once both countries agree on the means and procedures to ensure there is no Covid-19 infection.

The plan was raised during a meeting between Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ith Sam Heng and Japanese ambassador to Cambodia Masahiro Mikami on Thursday.

Sam Heng said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the Cambodia-Japan Labour Cooperation Framework was signed in 2007 to accept Cambodian interns to work in Japan.

A second MoU was signed last year to recruit Cambodian skilled workers to Japan. There are currently more than 10,000 Cambodians working in Japan.

“I would like to thank the Japanese side for taking care of the Cambodian trainees and skilled workers and for allowing them to enter and leave Japan through home quarantine measures. As planned, Cambodia will send more trainees and skilled workers as soon as both sides agree on the means and procedures,” Sam Heng said.

He a lso requested Mikami cont inue to suppor t human resource development and attract more Japanese investors to Cambodia.

Both sides said they appreciated the good cooperation in all fields, especially in employment and vocational training.

The governments of both countries have also put in place effective measures to prevent the spread of Covid19, according to a ministry report.

Sam Heng said employment, tourism and other sectors in Cambodia are facing a number of crises and the government has introduced a package of measures to address the Covid-19 impact on workers, especially those who have lost their jobs, to help them solve life problems and find new opportunities.

Mikami praised Cambodia’s effective efforts to address the impact of Covid-19 and solve socio-economic problems in the country.

In a Facebook post, Sam Heng said the government is promoting the implementation of technical and vocational education and training policies in response to the development of Cambodia’s industrial sector to ensure competitiveness. The Japan International Cooperation Agency ( JICA) is also providing training in electrical skills.

The ministry has organised a skills test and a Japanese language test to work in Japan, which will take place in October and November, with different testing dates and locations.