There Are More Cars and Prostitutes... So What?

When I first entered Grinnell College back in 2005, professors, my older peers and alums assured me that Grinnell will make me a “critical thinker” who knows how to read, speak and write well. In the following four years, I read, spoke and wrote. But when our final year started and the stock market crashed, it was impossible to find employment. Students, including me, then began to question the value of “critical thinking.” We asked, “Wouldn’t knowledge of accounting principles, business statistics, econometrics, computer programming, etc. be more valuable?”

If an economy only needs accountants and bankers as well as internet connection to support their work, then my answer may be YES. However, in reality, all economies need people who can think outside the box and convey ideas clearly verbally and in the written form.

In late October this year, the consultants from my Job Centre project team trained 15 counterpart staff from local vocational training providers and the Ministry of Labour. The training reminds me of the value of “critical thinking.” For four days, we ran exercises to stimulate analytical thoughts. We asked, for instance, “Suppose there are more cars in Battambang province over the ten years – what would this fact mean for the local economy?” Participants were then asked to brainstorm a list of new direct and indirect employment opportunities.

We also asked participants to make sense of labour market information in Cambodia. For example, seeing more laid off garment workers, some researchers found empirical evidence that unemployed women are moving to the sex industry. Now, how can the Job Centre use this information? How would this information alter the target audience and operation protocol of the Job Centre? What are the implications on skills needs?

Imagination is desperately needed for development-related work. There is no precedence in the country. There may be precedence from other countries, but their experiences must be adapted appropriately and tested in the local context. There are no textbooks. There are no authoritative supervisors who can tell staff members what exactly to do. In effect, people need to imagine and take up challenges and responsibilities.

From the trainers, I learned to get “the idea” across – the idea that their trainees must be imaginative and innovative. When asked to analyze certain data, some trainees refused to do so because “analysis is the job of the experts.” Little did they know that they were the experts! When asked to formulate the standard operating procedures of the Job Centres, some trainees suggested that “the ILO” should be responsible. Not them. The project consultants, therefore, spent much time conveying the idea of “critical analysis” in many different ways. Surely, there is much value of asking “so what?” and not receiving answers or facts as granted.

Photos from training course and training venue (project site):


Consultants explaining to trainees the preparations needed to set up a Job Centre at the forthcoming project site.

Construction of the National Employment Agency, due to be finished early next year. The NEA will forecast labour market needs and develop vocational training and employment policies.

Renovation of the Job Centre site in Phnom Penh.

The Job Centre site is located at the National Technical Training Institute, one of the first vocational training schools operated by the Cambodian government.

Main building of NTTI. The building follows French architectural styles and has been recently repainted.

The NTTI campus hosts three other schools -- the Cambodia-India Entrepreneurship Centre, Krossomak Polytechnic and Industrial Polytechnic (under construction). This is another view of the campus.

Breakfast at NTTI canteen. In Cambodia, restaurants often cook the food and lay them out for customers to choose -- not very hygienic but nonetheless interesting to see.

Sweets can also be part of breakfast...

After the training course, the consultant joined some Cambodians in playing a "sports" game.