Cambodia should look to it for jobs growth

PHNOM PENH – Cambodia should look to the country's rapidly developing IT sector to achieve jobs growth, according to one of the country's leading suppliers of communications services.

According to Ezecom, the country's IT sector could produce tens of thousands of jobs over the next five years as companies place more importance on information and communications technology. 
"We estimate that the average service sector company employs two to three IT professional," said Ezecom CEO Paul Blanche-Horgan. "That represents just one percent of the workforce."

"We would expect that to increase to four or five percent over the next few years," added Blanche-Horgan.

According to Blanche-Horgan as Cambodian businesses expand they will increase their reliance on information technology for bookings, sales and transactions. He believes that the companies in the country's service sector in particular will have to increase the size of their IT departments.

"At present a company with a workforce of two hundred may employ two people to look after their IT and communications," added Blanch-Horgan. "But as these become bigger and more successful they will also become more reliant upon efficient communications."   

Blanche-Horgan points out that local companies currently prefer to outsource their IT requirements to independent consultancies that are specialists in certain fields. However, he claims that in future the hundreds of consultancies that currently exist in Cambodia might not be able to meet the increased demand.

"Businesses and markets in Cambodia look set to expand," said Blanche-Horgan. "And with that expansion will come increased demands for efficiency and continuity. Companies will be looking to IT to provide the solutions in-house. That will mean more jobs."  

Ezecom, which already has fibre optic covering 99% of Cambodia, recently acquired fibre optic company Telcotech. The company is already providing fibre optic connectivity around the world. 

Ezecom was launched in 2007 and has since become one of the country’s leading suppliers of communication services.  Ezecom offers fibre optic, WIMAX, ADSL and internet-based solutions to companies and consumers across Cambodia. The company's aim is to provide high-speed data services to every province in Cambodia by the year 2015.
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