“I always look forward to coming to the old factory hall in the morning”
Interview with Pius Frick, LED country coordinator in Cambodia since March 2022
Pius Frick, what was it like moving from Moldova to Cambodia?
Exciting. At the end of almost ten years in the Republic of Moldova, I realized how little you actually need to live. So I left again with very little luggage. At the beginning, I was busy extending my visa, organizing an apartment and a job, i.e. first arriving properly and pitching my tent. This also gave me the opportunity to get my bearings in the city and get a rough overview. I realized that I had to adjust my habits, not least to cope with the heat. In the meantime, I’ve already got used to the heat.
Does the LED now have an office in Phnom Penh?
Yes, i.e. not officially yet. But we already have an office in a co-working space. That was the plan from the start: to set up flexibly and use a co-working space at the beginning. I knew that there were quite a few such flexible workspaces in the capital. The decision was made in favor of Factory Phnom Penh. Although the old, converted textile factory is located slightly outside the city center, it is a popular venue for events (including development-related ones). We have a small but nice office there in the immediate vicinity with interesting start-ups and projects. There is a small kitchen and meeting rooms that we can use if required. All in all, it’s a cost-effective and flexible solution. I always look forward to coming to the old factory building in the morning.
What issues is the LED working on in Cambodia?
There is no shortage of ideas. First of all, I did a lot of reading. Fortunately, the LED instructed us to focus our analysis on vocational training and education for sustainable development. These are already very large subject areas. We had to analyze dozens of strategies and guidelines and comb through studies on the situation. And then we went on to visit organizations and state institutions active in this field in order to deepen what we had read in discussions and put it into a real context. Paper is sometimes patient and some things cannot be written in a publication. In conversations, you can raise sensitive issues that reports don’t answer and you get to hear personal assessments.
Is it possible to narrow down the topic at this stage?
The picture that emerged is relatively clear. Cambodia has gained a strong economic foothold in the last ten years, primarily through the textile industry. Although this industry provides jobs, for many the wages are not enough to cover basic needs. The government would therefore like to create more jobs with higher added value and higher wages. Training and further education play a major role in this. The LED’s focus on vocational training is correspondingly welcome. We will focus on specific topics, and we are currently looking at the two areas of IT/digitalization and the environment (renewable energies, energy efficiency, etc.). In my opinion, we can make a valuable contribution here.
How is the dialog with the authorities structured? Who is responsible for vocational training?
At first, it was a bit more complicated than I was used to in Moldova. In Moldova, it was very easy to get in touch with the vocational training department, for example. Cambodia is much larger – the state structures are correspondingly more complex. There are also cultural differences. Hierarchies are much more important here. We are still learning. I now have good contact with both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor, which is in charge of vocational training. Maintaining an overview of vocational education and training is challenging, as no fewer than 14 ministries maintain their own structures related to vocational education and training. The Department of Vocational Education and Training of the Ministry of Labor is confronted with a correspondingly large coordination effort. We have to take this into account in our work.
Will there soon be the first project support in Cambodia?
I am already in talks with both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor about some project ideas. Work is underway and the first proposals will soon be ready for discussion. They will soon be presented to our Foundation Board. I will be happy to report more as soon as the first projects have been approved.
