The Causes Of The Skills Gap And Need For A Coherent Migrant Labor Program In Cambodia: A Background to the Establishment of MEIHO APHIVAT CO. LTD.

Abstract

This research paper is intended to be the first in a series that will effectively form an archive of the history and growth of a specific company known as MEIHO APHIVAT CO., LTD. The second part will chart the origin and first steps of the start-up company, but preceding that in this paper I will review literature that will help to explain the historical, cultural and economic background in order to demonstrate the importance of this company to the Cambodian economy, and indeed society.

In its initial guise, Meiho Aphivat is a Japanese-funded recruitment agency along with language school and training centre charged with recruiting and training Cambodians to serve for three to five years as migrant trainees/workers in Japan before returning to Cambodia where their skills will be put to use to the betterment of the Cambodian economy. Thus, the first section of this paper will briefly illustrate the background of the industry with reference to the demographics of the two nations.