Empowering Youth for Safer Futures – Youth Connection II

Young people in Cambodia—particularly in rural and border regions—continue to face limited access to quality education, vocational training, and decent employment opportunities. As a result, migration, often through informal and irregular channels, remains a key livelihood strategy. While it offers short-term income opportunities, it also exposes youth to significant risks such as exploitation, unsafe working conditions, trafficking, and social isolation. Recent regional instability and border restrictions have further increased uncertainty, leaving many young people without viable alternatives.

Underlying these dynamics are structural challenges including persistent poverty, low school completion rates, and insufficient awareness of education and vocational pathways. Many adolescents leave school early due to economic pressure or limited perceived returns to education. Access to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) remains uneven, especially in rural areas, and information gaps prevent youth from identifying viable opportunities.

Vulnerabilities are particularly pronounced among girls and young women, who face additional barriers such as early marriage, gender-based violence, and restrictive social norms. At the same time, families, schools, and local institutions often lack the capacities, coordination mechanisms, and resources to effectively support at-risk youth. Despite existing national frameworks promoting youth empowerment, gaps in implementation at community level limit their impact.

The project aims to enable young people to make informed, safe, and self-determined life choices. It seeks to strengthen both individual capacities of youth and the support systems surrounding them, creating an environment in which young people can pursue education, skills development, and dignified livelihoods.

Youth Connection II builds on proven approaches from the first phase and applies a holistic strategy that combines direct youth support with system strengthening:

• Youth capacity development: Around 800 youth (15–25 years, in- and out-of-school) will benefit from training in life skills, digital literacy, and job readiness. Awareness-raising activities—including trainings, testimonials, and career fairs—will strengthen understanding of safe migration, vocational opportunities, and risks such as early marriage or irregular migration.
• Youth empowerment and participation: Student councils and youth groups will be supported to lead peer-to-peer activities and awareness campaigns. This approach fosters leadership, confidence, and social cohesion, enabling youth to actively shape their communities.
• Strengthening support structures: Schools, parents, and community actors will be engaged to better identify early signs of dropout and vulnerability, promote positive norms, and provide consistent support to young people.
• Partnership and coordination: The project works closely with governmental institutions and specialized partners to harmonize approaches, strengthen capacities, and improve access to information on vocational training and employment opportunities.