Dreams Training Centre

One of Child’s Dream’s higher education partners, Feeding Dreams Cambodia (FDC), has defied the odds by securing employment for over 90% of its recent Dreams Training Centre (DTC) graduates despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges currently faced by the hospitality and tourism sector in Cambodia.

DTC offers a comprehensive curriculum of hospitality training and soft skills education for underprivileged youth in and around Siem Reap who, without this programme, would be vulnerable to working in dangerous and exploitative conditions. DTC strives to ensure that its students avoid this fate, and instead become part of the renowned hospitality sector in Siem Reap.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Siem Reap saw a 99% drop in the number of arrivals at its international airport: a drastic blow to the city, which is home to over 50% of Cambodia’s tourism-related jobs.

Upon completion of the 10-month intensive DTC programme, the graduates are supported by the centre in securing meaningful employment in one of Siem Reap’s 4- and 5-star hotels and resorts – a process that is typically without any major obstacles. However, with the tourism and hospitality sector on its knees, how did the majority of the 54 graduates defy the odds and find employment upon graduation?

Mr. Makura Seng, DTC’s General Manager, pays credit to the steadfastness of the programme, which follows the ASEAN standard in hospitality training as a baseline for assessing the students’ competencies. He affirms that this, coupled with DTC’s reputation locally, has given the graduates a competitive edge in a struggling industry.

This latest accomplishment of DTC and its graduates is no mean feat, and gives us further confidence in the centre’s commitment to helping youth in Cambodia for years to come.