Why organize a Skills Fair?
On June 7, we organized our first Skills Fair event in Kralanh High School for students aged 15 years old and up. The main goal was to connect students with a variety of organizations so they could learn about university options and future job opportunities.
Our team spoke with high school students earlier in the year to find out what they needed to know in order to achieve their dreams. Lida Loem, PEPY’s Project Manager and Skills Fair organizer, said, “Students didn’t know what kind of scholarships or jobs were available so that’s why they lost confidence in continuing their studies.” We wanted to bridge the gap between students’ lack of knowledge or confidence and their achievable goals.
Many young people around rural areas in the Siem Reap province often drop out of school for several reasons:
Helpful organizations
Participants were able to speak with people from universities, hotels, businesses and NGOs at the fair. The representatives told students about the types of roles that exist in their organization and explained the value of education in helping them achieve their goals.
Sopheap Doung, the Human Resources Manager at Amansara Hotel, grew up in Kralanh herself and attended the Skills Fair to share her knowledge and motivate students. “I’m happy to join this community event and show young people how to get a better job and a better life. They can start right now to get the skills to match the requirements for the job and they can plan ahead for their goals in the future,” Sopheap said.
In the afternoon, representatives from the YES Centre gave a workshop to students on how to write a CV and cover letter. This Siem Reap-based organization gives young people career advice, soft skills training and a place to come and study. One student said she was excited to receive more training from the YES Centre.
Desire to learn and share
700 students attended the fair and many asked questions to employers and event speakers, including information about the skills they need for various job roles, what to study in university and salaries.
Saraak Rith, PEPY’s Senior Program Manager, was very happy that students were calling him after the event to find out more information about the organizations and future opportunities. Some students were so motivated after the event that they shared the information they got with their friends who attending another high school.
A 20-year-old student said, “I would really be happy if this event happened regularly because it’s good to help the young generation understand more about different jobs. It helps Cambodia with economic growth like in other countries.”
Lessons learned
We received a lot of positive and constructive feedback from students and organizations that we will use to improve our future projects. Here are some of the lessons we learned:
We would like to thank the following organizations for participating in the Skills Fair and sharing their ideas and experience with young people in Kralanh: