Hey, waiter!

While tourism numbers in Cambodia are growing rapidly, visitors might increasingly have a hard time finding a restaurant to their liking since the country is experiencing a shortage of qualified personnel, especially waiters and chefs, accordingly to the Cambodia Restaurant Association. “The tourism industry needs at least 10,000 more workers a year to sustain its current growth,” said Van Porleng, the association’s president.Cambodia has more than 900 restaurants that serve tourists which employ more than 40,000 workers. However, experts say the country will need between 2,000 and 2,500 restaurants to serve the expected seven million tourists who will visit in 2020. … While the equality of chefs has improved over recent years, there is still much to be desired. Due to a lack of formal training programs, many just use skills they learned on previous jobs. “Being a chief requires both theory and practical experience,” Kuy Vat said. Many higher-end restaurants import chefs from abroad because they cannot find qualified local candidates. …