Development of the National Employment Policy in Cambodia Malika Ok, ILO

mid-2010 Request for support Capacity building Background studies conducted 2012 August and December Consultation March 2013 Consultation ILO assistance for NEP development process Request from the Government for ILO’s assistance with national employment policymaking. The ILO considered the request and decided to support the national employment policy formulation process. Representatives of tripartite constituents took part in Employment Policy Course in International Training Centre, Turin, Italy. Various capacity building activities were implemented by the ILO-EU project on social protection and employment. Upon identification of four priority areas (pro-employment macroeconomic policies, skills gap analysis, rural employment and migration) at a tripartite consultation meeting, background studies on these topics are conducted. In parallel, the ILO collaborated with the ADB on employment diagnostic analysis for Cambodia. Outcomes of the background studies were presented and their implications to NEP were discussed among tripartite constituents. ILO representative participated on a consultation workshop on Cambodia Vision 2030, Rectangular Strategy Phase 3, and NSDP in order to mainstream employment in these key policy documents. MoLVT requested the Council of Ministers to set up an inter-ministerial steering committee on NEP.

Policy development schedule and process ahead Launch of Rectangular Strategy III Election and formulation of a new government Formulation of Vision 2030 and NSDP May 2013July 2013Summer- December 2013 NEP Schedule National policy Schedule outlinedraft Final draft influence policy review new policy orientation reflect Agreed outline 3 rd consultation May High-level policy workshop early September consultation process drafting adoption process

The broad objectives of NEP: policy framing and thinking  The National employment policy with a focus on young women and men (NEP) aims to generate pro-active policy stance and interventions in promoting full, productive and freely chosen employment (C122).  Because employment and labour market outcomes are influenced by many factors (economic and structural policies, external shocks such as trade, exchange rate, and natural disasters), one of the key functions that NEP should serve is coordination between priorities and focus of structural policies and labour market policies.  This means addressing and coordinating across the demand and supply sides of the labour market, and informed mobilization of workers toward productive jobs.  In the long-run, NEP should promote productive employment for all and serve the entire population. However, when the capacity for service delivery is limited, with poor outreach to the most vulnerable population, it may be useful to concentrate policy interventions around key (sub-)sectors that are being promoted for further development and exports (as identified by industrial and trade policies) and target service delivery to specific population segments, in the medium-term. This should occur in tandem with strategies to extend the social protection floor, to ensure that the poor and the vulnerable also increase the stability and levels of their income. At the same time, cumulative capacity development to deliver labour market policies (e.g. employment services, labour market information) needs to occur immediately.