Ottar Meanchey: Samrong residents, especially former workers from Thailand and young people, have received “special opportunities” not only for local jobs, free training and accommodation, but also for safe work opportunities abroad with higher salaries than in Thailand. The offer was made through the Labor, Social Security, and Vocational Training Forum under the theme “Khmer Help Find Jobs and Provide Jobs for Khmer” which was held under the high chairmanship of Mr. Heng Sour, Minister of Labor and Vocational Training, at the Om Touk Forum Park in Borey Administrative, Sangkat Samrong, Samrong City, Oddar Meanchey Province on May 9, 2026, with nearly 800 participants.
The forum brought together representatives of factories, enterprises, companies and large economic zones to meet directly with job seekers to apply, interview and get immediate employment at nearly 3,000 locations, especially former workers from Thailand. The Minister emphasized that “in the past, people ran for jobs that cost both time and money, but now it is jobs and schools that run for their children and grandchildren,” in line with the high recommendation of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, who gives top priority to providing safe job opportunities, better working conditions and decent wages to citizens to ensure a decent living and social security, as well as directly contributing to helping build a stronger national economy. In fact, there are currently more than 90,000 other job opportunities for citizens.
On that occasion, Mr. Heng Sour compared and told us in detail the differences between local jobs and jobs in Thailand. He explained that working in Thailand is fraught with safety risks, labor exploitation, discrimination, violence, living far from family, and lack of health care both now and in the future. Meanwhile, domestic work, in addition to being a strong foundation for building a family economy and a bright future, also benefits from the Social Security System (SSS), which provides many benefits when starting work, especially in the area of work risks, free health care, and a pension like that of civil servants, which helps ease the burden or burden on the family as well as children in old age. He highlighted that having a SSS card You will go for medical check-ups more often, which will help you stay healthy and avoid serious illnesses.
In addition, he encouraged some former workers who are waiting to return to work in Thailand to try out the jobs offered to them to earn an income to support their families or apply to work in other countries that offer higher salaries and security than Thailand, such as Japan and Korea. Singapore or Israel, etc., especially for those in Oudomxay province who suffered severe damage from the Siamese invasion.
Meanwhile, in cases where they do not want to work in factories and abroad, former workers and young people who have dropped out of school can create their own jobs by attending technical skills training courses from the program TVET 1.5 million free days and receive additional subsidies such as construction, repair of machinery, electrical equipment, air conditioning, baking and coffee making, etc. He said that you can register at the Provincial Department of Labor and Vocational Training at the TVET school in Siem Reap province, with the ministry providing accommodation, especially in Phnom Penh, where you can study and take advantage of part-time work to earn extra income. Upon graduation, the ministry will provide a set of materials to use for self-employment or help coordinate with banks to provide low interest rates in case of need for loans. He also reminded everyone to remember the Hotline 1297 number for job registration, inquiries, and further information, and to continue sharing it with family members and relatives.
With the reminder of the war of territorial invasion in Oddar Meanchey province, as well as some other border provinces, Mr. Heng Suar called on everyone to turn this historical pain into a struggle to build capacity, strengthen internal unity, and trust in the leadership of the Royal Government to build a stronger family economy and the nation.
