Internship Program to Develop Soft Skills in Cambodia
A Program Focused on Supporting Student Learning
SALASUSU aims to create a society where students can develop their soft skills through internships, play an active role in the workplace after employment, and live their own lives.
Therefore, with a grant from the Mite Fund (a foundation of mixi, a Japanese IT company), and in collaboration with the International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBC), we are running an internship initiative in Cambodia called Pathways to Employment (P2E ).
Developing students' soft skills and helping TVET improve their education.
The aims of SALASUSU's internship initiative can be summarized in two main areas
(1) Effectively and efficiently nurturing soft skills by learning and practicing.
In order to acquire soft skills, it is necessary to learn not only through classroom learning but also through real-world practice. At SALASUSU's own workshops, we not only provide soft skills training but also emphasize the importance of practicing and acquiring soft skills in the process of crafting as a team.
Based on this experience, we believe that it is important for TVET to have internships where students can practice soft skills, and we are involved in improving internships.
(2) Through internships, TVET can understand the needs of companies and improve its training and courses.
In Cambodia, the skills gap (the gap between the skills developed in education and those needed in the industry) is a large issue. (→Article on the skills gap: https://salasusu.substack.com/p/what-skills-are-lacking-in-cambodia?s=r)
One cause of this skills gap is the failure of schools to reflect the needs of industry in their educational curriculum.
We believe that internships are a good opportunity for schools to get direct feedback from companies and that it is important that trainers not only receive training and develop their skills but also set up a cycle to improve their lessons.
Programs that emphasize student learning in internships
Currently, as a pilot project, we are sending 11 university students and 6 TVET students for 6 months starting in September 2021. The budget size is approximately 9.5 million yen or 70 thousand U.S. dollars. (At the exchange rate as of June 27, 2022)
The project has the following features.
We focus on supporting students' learning through pre-training and coaching since the primary objective of the project is for students to practice and cultivate their soft skills through the internship process.
Features of this project
Hosting students from both universities and vocational schools
In the future, we plan to place more emphasis on TVET students from various diverse backgrounds.
Long-term internships (Duration: 6 months)
The majority of TVET internships in Cambodia are short-term, ranging from 2 weeks to 2 months. However, based on our own experience in accepting interns, SALASUSU believes that 6 months is necessary for students to learn and contribute to the company as well, and we recommend a long-term internship of 6 months or more in Cambodia.
Part-Time (50% Commitment )
Many internships in Cambodia are full-time, but we believe that by making it part-time, students can synergize their studies and internship.
Learning support for students
Pre-training (mainly on soft skills)
Prior to the start of the internship, students were given training on basic soft skills such as respecting time, asking for help, and emotional control. Students said that what they learned in the training was useful in the workplace because the training was not limited to lectures but was designed for workplace situations.
Coaching support during the dispatch (once every 1 or 2 months)
In coaching, coaches ask students about what they are having trouble with and what they are learning during the internship. This is helpful in providing mental support for the interns and reflecting on their learning.
Monthly Reflection
Pre-deployment training for destination managers
Figure: Internship Implementation Flow
In fact, we have seen many improvements in students’ soft skills such as communication skills and emotional control through internships in this program.
Our coaching staff said that she actually felt significant growth compared to the time of training before the internship and the follow-up time several months later. We have seen pleasant growth, such as some members of the group becoming more willing to speak up and express their opinions in an engaging manner.
We will post more detailed stories about the students' growth in due course.
We have created a promotional video to promote and expand this project to companies, schools, and students in the future. Please watch it to hear the real voices of students, companies, and IBC.
English version:
Khmer subtitled version: