Reaping the Benefits of Industry 4.0 Through Skills Development in Cambodia

By Asian Development Bank

This report explores the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on the future of the job market in Cambodia. It assesses how jobs, tasks, and skills are being transformed, particularly in tourism and garment manufacturing as the top two industries with the largest employment in the country. These two industries are likely to benefit from the transformational effect of 4IR, if there is adequate investment in jobs, skills, and training. The report is part of series developed from an Asian Development Bank study on trends in skills demand in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Release date: Jan 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9789292624569

Book preview

REAPING THE BENEFITS OF INDUSTRY 4.0 THROUGH SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN CAMBODIA

JANUARY 2021

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)

© 2021 Asian Development Bank

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Some rights reserved. Published in 2021.

ISBN 978-92-9262-455-2 (print); 978-92-9262-456-9 (electronic); 978-92-9262-457-6 (ebook)

Publication Stock No. SPR200325

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/SPR200325

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In this publication, $ refers to United States dollars unless otherwise stated.

ADB recognizes China as the People's Republic of China and Vietnam as Viet Nam.

Cover design by Mike Cortes.

Contents

Tables, Figures, and Boxes

Foreword

Talent and skills are valuable in powering knowledge-based economies. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has ushered in extraordinary technological advances, fusing boundaries of physical, digital, and biological worlds to create new paradigms in the way we live, work, and interact. These trends have heralded excitement and fear—excitement in advancing frontiers of human endeavor and fear of negative repercussions on jobs and rising inequalities.

To respond to questions and concerns in developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on how their economies can transition effectively to 4IR, the study "Reaping the Benefits of Industry 4.0 Through Skills Development in High-Growth Industries in Southeast Asia" builds an evidence based on opportunities, challenges, and promising approaches in 4IR. It covers Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam with specific focus on two industries in each country deemed important for growth, employment, and 4IR: tourism and garments in Cambodia, food and beverage manufacturing and automotive manufacturing in Indonesia, information technology and business process outsourcing and electronics in the Philippines, and agro-processing and logistics in Viet Nam.

Much has been written about anticipated loss of millions of jobs arising from automation. At ADB, we take a tempered view. The study reaffirms a positive outlook to 4IR creating new opportunities for quality jobs. While many jobs will indeed be lost as a result of automation, new jobs will emerge through the adoption of technologies that will increase worker productivity and competitiveness of nations, thereby leading to greater prosperity. However, tapping such benefits is predicated on increasing investments in skills development and greater efforts by companies to upskill their workforce to perform new and higher order roles in complementarity with machines.

Adoption of 4IR technologies can increase efficiency