Two milestones for our vocational training

27. August 2026

Smiling Gecko Campus

Official Recognition for Our Vocational Training: What It Means for People Like Phoeun Pheu

“When I was young, we gathered firewood to get by. When we came home, we had nothing to eat. We had no rice.” Phoeun Pheu tells his story without self-pity, simply as a fact of his childhood. His family borrowed the neighbor’s cow to transport the wood they collected and sold. It was the only way to afford rice. “Times were hard when we were young. Our house didn’t even have a proper roof.”

Today, Phoeun Pheu works in the production team of our carpentry workshop on the Smiling Gecko campus. Among other things, he creates laser engravings, work that demands precision and craftsmanship. It is for people like him that we built our vocational training program, and it is for them that the news we are sharing here matters most.

Two milestones for our vocational training

On the Smiling Gecko campus, we have been training young people in trades and agriculture for many years. What used to happen informally, driven by our own conviction, is now officially confirmed. Within just a few weeks, our vocational training took two important steps.

On July 23, 2026, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding on our campus with two state Cambodian vocational institutes, the Battambang National Institute of Vocational Training and the Kampong Chhnang Polytechnic Institute. The agreement, running for three years, sets out that we will share our training facilities, specialized trainers, and pedagogical methods with these state institutions. Present at the signing were, among others, H.E. Dr. Hing Sideth, Director General of the General Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training at Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, and the directors of both partner institutes.

Just two weeks later came the natural next step: on August 5, 2026, H.E. Heng Sour, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training, personally signed the Ministerial Declaration formally establishing and licensing the “Smiling Gecko Cambodia Technical and Vocational Education and Training School,” our new vocational school. Such a declaration represents the highest form of official recognition an educational institution can receive in Cambodia.

The five-year licence authorizes us to deliver nationally certified qualifications across seven vocational areas with 17 courses in total, spanning hospitality and culinary arts, agriculture and aquaculture, electrical and plumbing systems, woodworking, welding, and food processing. Graduates of our campus programs will now receive national certificates recognized by the Royal Government of Cambodia.

What this means for people like Phoeun Pheu

Phoeun Pheu’s journey, from gathering firewood to laser engraving, shows what training can achieve, even without an official certificate. With national accreditation, that path becomes tangible for even more young people from rural Cambodia. Their qualifications will now count nationwide, open doors with employers, and give them something they lacked before: an official document confirming, in black and white, what they can do.