Cambodia’s textile, garment, footwear and travel goods industries are expected to remain the country’s largest sources of employment over the next three years, Labour and Vocational Training Minister Heng Sour said on Monday. The assessment points to continued job opportunities in manufacturing while also highlighting a growing need for workers with stronger technical and digital skills.
Sour made the remarks during the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training’s podcast on “Preparing after high school graduation to meet labour market demands.” The programme also featured Royal University of Phnom Penh Rector Chet Chealy and Westline Education Group Director General and Young Entrepreneurs Association of Cambodia President Pech Bolen.
Cambodia’s employment landscape is expected to keep expanding, but the next phase of growth will demand more specialised skills as factories adopt automation and businesses across tourism, services and other sectors continue to evolve.
Garment and Travel Goods Industries Will Continue Driving Employment
Sour said the forecast was based on research and statistical data gathered from several sources, including the World Economic Forum, regional labour market projections, interviews with employers investing and operating in Cambodia, and newly approved investment projects from the Council for the Development of Cambodia.
“We see that from now until the next three years, employment in textiles, garments, footwear and travel goods will continue to account for the largest share of jobs,” Sour said.
The minister also pointed out that employment opportunities in the sector are no longer limited to traditional production roles. As factories increasingly depend on advanced machinery and equipment, demand is growing for workers with technical expertise in areas such as automotive mechanics, automation and mechatronics.
Services Sector Offers Another Major Employment Engine
Beyond manufacturing, Sour identified the services sector as another important source of employment. Tourism, restaurants and beverage businesses, retail and trade, finance and banking are expected to continue creating substantial opportunities for workers.
This outlook is particularly relevant as Cambodia’s economy continues to develop across both industrial and service based activities. For businesses, the changing employment structure also means that access to workers with relevant skills will remain an important consideration for expansion and investment decisions.
Agriculture, meanwhile, is expected to require fewer workers over the next three years as technology and mechanisation become more widespread. Sour stressed that this does not mean agriculture will become less important to Cambodia’s economy. Instead, technological advances are enabling the sector to maintain production while relying on fewer workers.
“Overall, Cambodia is estimated to have the capacity to create between 300,000 and 360,000 jobs annually. These jobs could absorb both young people entering the labour market and university graduates,” the minister emphasised.
Future Factory Jobs Will Require Higher Skills
While the garment sector is expected to remain a leading employer, Sour said the nature of the jobs and the skills required are likely to change significantly over the coming years. The Ministry’s assessment indicates that Cambodia’s industrial structure and labour market requirements could evolve over the next four or five years.
“Therefore, the major sectors we have today and over the next five years may remain important sectors. We expect the garment sector to continue to be a leading employer, but the skill requirements over the next five years will be different from those of today. In the future, the sector will need technicians, programmers and workers capable of managing automated production lines to help ensure the sector’s sustainability and maintain its important role in our economy,” he said.
The shift suggests that Cambodia’s manufacturing competitiveness will increasingly depend not only on the availability of workers, but also on the quality and technical capabilities of its workforce. For manufacturers, developing employees who can operate, maintain and manage automated systems could become increasingly important to long term productivity.
Young People Face a More Complex Labour Market
Chealy said Cambodia’s labour market continues to show strong potential and is expanding, with demand remaining high across a wide range of skills, including those required by the garment sector and other industries.
However, he noted that the growing use of information technology and automation is changing what employers expect from workers. Young people entering the workforce are increasingly required to develop higher level and more complex skills rather than relying solely on knowledge that is currently popular.
“For young people who have just completed Grade 12, choosing a field of study should not be based solely on which skills are currently popular or which sectors offer the most jobs. They should carefully consider what they are passionate about, what they are good at and what they want to become in the future. Choosing a field of study should be a long-term decision because the skills they acquire will form the foundation of their careers and working lives,” he said.
Chealy added that no particular skill should be viewed as having no future if learners develop genuine competence and know how to apply it effectively. As Cambodia’s labour market expands, skilled workers will continue to find opportunities, although stronger competition will make specialised knowledge and practical ability increasingly important.
“Therefore, before choosing a field of study, young people need to understand themselves clearly—what they are good at, what they are passionate about and where they want to go. They should then work hard to master the skills they have chosen and develop genuine practical expertise in order to meet the increasingly complex demands of the labour market,” said Chealy.
Closing the Skills Gap Requires Business and Education to Work Together
Bolen said the gap between the skills available in the workforce and those demanded by employers is a challenge facing countries around the world as economic and social conditions continue to change.
He broadly divided the challenge into a skills gap and a labour force gap. The skills gap is driven by technological advances and changing business requirements, while education systems cannot always adjust quickly enough to meet every new demand. The labour force gap, meanwhile, is influenced by the movement of people and workers between regions.
As these changes continue, countries are increasingly turning to reskilling and upskilling programmes to address emerging workforce needs. Cambodia faces a similar challenge as businesses adopt new technologies and industries evolve.
“To reduce this gap, there must be close cooperation between educational institutions, vocational training providers and the private sector. The education sector needs to understand the actual requirements of the labour market, while businesses need to provide information and input on the skills they require,” he said.
SMEs Also Need Stronger Workforce Planning
Bolen also highlighted the role of small and medium sized enterprises in preparing Cambodia’s future workforce. While large companies generally have established business plans and a clearer understanding of their workforce requirements, many SMEs still lack strategic plans covering the next three to five years.
For entrepreneurs, workforce planning therefore needs to become part of broader business planning. Understanding future market conditions, identifying the skills required to support growth and developing appropriate business strategies can help SMEs prepare for changes in both technology and customer demand.
Bolen said entrepreneurs also need additional training to better understand the economy, develop business plans and identify the skills their companies will need. Greater cooperation between businesses, educational institutions and vocational training providers could help ensure that training is more closely aligned with real market requirements.
Garment Exports Continue to Show Growth
The outlook for Cambodia’s garment and related industries comes as the sector continues to contribute significantly to the country’s international trade. According to a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise, Cambodia’s garment, textile, footwear and travel goods industry recorded a 6.2 percent increase in exports during the first half of 2026.
The export performance reinforces the sector’s continuing importance to Cambodia’s economy and employment market. At the same time, the shift toward automation and more technically demanding production means that future competitiveness will increasingly depend on developing a workforce capable of supporting modern manufacturing.
Conclusion
Cambodia’s garment, footwear and travel goods industries are expected to remain the country’s largest job generators over the next three years, but the jobs themselves are changing. Automation, technology and evolving business requirements are pushing demand beyond traditional production roles toward technicians, programmers and workers with specialised expertise.
For young people, businesses and policymakers, the message is increasingly clear: employment growth alone will not be enough. Cambodia’s next stage of economic development will depend on stronger cooperation between education, vocational training and the private sector, while entrepreneurs and SMEs will need to plan more strategically for the skills their businesses will require. With an estimated capacity to create 300,000 to 360,000 jobs annually, the opportunity remains substantial, but preparing the right workforce will be critical to turning that opportunity into sustainable economic growth.