Why Work-Based Learning Model is the Ultimate Corporate Strategy
On 4 March 2026, 68 CEOs (21 women) in Cambodia sat down with Directorate General of Technical Vocational Education and Training (DGTVET) and the Skills Development Fund (SDF) at the GIZ project ASEAN-Swiss TVET Initiative (ASTI) CEO Engagement Event. Organized by Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations (CAMFEBA) and ASTI, this event confronted a reality the numbers already confirm: 74% of Cambodian employers cannot find qualified workers (EuroCham–SDC Skills Gap Assessment, 2024). The current education system alone cannot supply the multidisciplinary, production-ready technicians that modern industry demands.
As Cambodia approaches LDC graduation in 2029, competitiveness on regional markets won't be about who buys better machines, but who builds better people. The CEO of ISI, one of ASTI's enterprise partners, was clear: the private sector cannot sit back and wait for a skilled workforce to appear, it has to actively build it.
The ASTI Work-Based Learning model, inspired by the Swiss and German dual training systems and adapted for Cambodia, puts employers at the centre:
They define what competence looks like.
Employers co-develop occupational standards and curricula with DGTVET.
This is not consultation. This is co-creation.
They don’t hunt randomly for talent.
Employers Federation, CAMFEBA and International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBC), match real labour demand with the right trainees. Right skills. Right sector. Right enterprise.
They train where productivity happens.
75% of learning takes place in their company, structured, progressive, aligned to real production tasks. Not a complementary internship. Real work.
They upgrade their own management capacity (40h training free of charge!).
Their supervisors complete certified in-company trainer training. They strengthen their leadership bench.
In Switzerland and Germany, the engine behind world-class TVET was not started by a government mandate, it was the private sector's self-interest in having a skilled workforce. The good news? Entreprises in Cambodia do not have to build alone and start from scratch. DGTVET, CAMFEBA, IBC, SDF, supported by ASTI, have laid the national infrastructure and financial cushion for Work-Based Learning to work for the country. The employer’s journey is straightforward: from identifying a skills gap to reaping efficiency gains. ASTI’s 9 steps employers’ onboarding journey in TVET is designed to be practical, manageable, and beneficial at every stage.
ASTI is a regional Project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Helvetas.
