Singapore and Cambodia signed two agreements yesterday to boost cooperation in the fields of vocational education and healthcare.
President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen witnessed the signing on the second day of Dr Tan's state visit to Cambodia.
One agreement, between the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) and Singapore's ITE Education Services (ITEES), will help master trainers in Cambodia hone their skills in three areas: infocommunications technology, electronics and automotive technology.
These trainers will then pass on what they have learnt to fellow teachers at the MLVT.
The three areas were identified as key priorities "based on the current skilled manpower needs and vocational landscape in Cambodia", said ITEES chief executive Tan Seng Hua.
Under this, 80 Cambodian master trainers will receive one week of lessons in Phnom Penh and two weeks of lessons in Singapore.
The lessons will be conducted by lecturers from the Institute of Technical Education who are technical experts in the fields involved.
Mr Tan said that in Cambodia, most of the teachers are recruited immediately after completing their university education, and the programme will help them gain the industry knowledge they need and allow them to learn about new technologies.
The cost of the programme is $805,320. Temasek Foundation International has provided a one-time training grant of up to $453,490 and the MLVT will fund the rest.
The second agreement signed yesterday expands a three-year partnership between Singapore's Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh to work together on trauma care and resuscitation training.
The two hospitals had co-developed a programme in 2014 to equip Cambodian healthcare workers with skills in these areas.
The programme has since benefited 216 Cambodian doctors and nurses.
Temasek Foundation International had provided a grant of $290,630, and TTSH and Calmette Hospital co-funded the rest.
The new agreement will take this partnership to greater heights, said Dr Chua Wei Chong, consultant trauma surgeon at TTSH.
It will expand training to include areas such as intensive care medicine, and healthcare leadership and development.
