A great challenge for our generation

  The Integration of all Asian countries into one community 

2015 is the year that all Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries will be integrated into one community.  Some people think that it will give opportunities to all people in ASEAN community to do business, exchange and learn from each other experiences and the like whereas some other people say that it also gives harmful impacts on some countries, especially those developing countries.  In my viewpoint, the greatest challenge that my generation will face is the less job opportunities for Cambodian people.

As I have known, a vast majority of Cambodian people are not well provided with high education, and most of them are those who live in rural areas within the country.  With the lack of industry and technology potential, Cambodia focuses mainly on agriculture as a major sector which can help improve the country economy, but there is a problem surrounding the human resources.  There will be a free flow of skilled workers such as engineers, architects, and entrepreneurs to name a few, yet the knowledge of Cambodian people is still limited, so I think that the integration of ASEAN countries will post a great challenge for Cambodian people.

However, it does not mean that I am pessimistic toward this integration.  Actually, every problem has a solution.  For me, there is a way, and that way is to provide Cambodian people with knowledge and skills relating to all fields.  The country will not be well developed unless skilled human resources are cultivated.  As one of Cambodia’s citizens, and also a prospective engineer in my country, I propose that government should send more Cambodian students in all fields of study to absorb and fetch new experiences and techniques from other countries so that they can share those valuable resources to all people when they come back to their home country.

All in all, I believe that as long as the highly qualified human resources are still limited, Cambodian people will face a great challenge when integrating into one community of all ASEAN countries.