AKP Phnom Penh, October 22, 2026 —

Bendigo Kangan Institute (BKI) has pledged to continue supporting Cambodia in developing its skilled workforce through vocational training programmes tailored to the country’s needs and labour market demands.

The commitment was made by Ms. Sharan BURROW, Chair of the BKI Board, during a courtesy call and working meeting with Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei HUN Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on Thursday afternoon.

During the meeting, Ms. Sharan Burrow briefed the Prime Minister on BKI’s progress in promoting skills development and building a skilled workforce, while expressing appreciation for the institute’s partnership with Cambodia.

She reaffirmed BKI’s commitment to contributing to Cambodia’s economic growth through vocational training and stressed that developing skilled workers is essential to economic diversification. She also pledged to strengthen cooperation with relevant Cambodian ministries and institutions, particularly the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, to develop training models suited to the country’s circumstances and support the Royal Government’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) policy.

In response, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet welcomed and highly appreciated BKI’s efforts to help build and develop Cambodia’s skilled workforce.

The Premier emphasised that the Royal Government considers people its top priority, with human capital development built on investment in healthcare, education, technical and vocational training, and the creation of decent jobs.

He stressed that quality technical and vocational education must be closely linked to practical application and actual labour market needs.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet also highlighted the government’s strategy to develop Cambodia’s industrial sector, with the aim of transforming the country from an economy reliant on agriculture into one increasingly driven by industry.

In this regard, he noted Cambodia’s ambition to integrate more deeply into regional and global supply chains for automotive parts and equipment, an important step towards diversifying the economy and increasing domestic value-added production beyond existing vehicle assembly operations.

Before concluding the meeting, Samdech Thipadei encouraged BKI’s leadership and its team to maintain close cooperation with relevant Cambodian ministries and institutions to ensure that skills training responds to current and future labour market demands and that cooperation plans translate into tangible and effective results.

By C. Nika