Each person working at PSE has their own reason, but it is the mission that brings us all together. It was obvious for Sebastien Clouet, the dean of the School of Business (SoB) who arrived last year, to choose PSE and therefore Cambodia as the heart of his project. After having supported, with his wife, the NGO for years from France, he settled in Cambodia with his family, knowing that he could fully entrust the organization and its mission. 17 years working in new technologies for different sectors, through various management positions to the co-creation of a start-up, Sebastien is currently taking up a new challenge, the academic sector: "I’ve already worked abroad and I was actually looking for it. Almost 100% of the staff here is Khmer and I find it amazing".
Currently, the School of Business represents 6 different skills and 314 students, almost half of whom are new this year! The first mission is to provide them with appropriate training that will ensure them a decent job as soon as they graduate, and hard skills that will eventually enable them to develop their careers later. To fulfill this objective, the training must meet the needs of the market. The new dean explains how the field is changing fast in Cambodia and the importance of understanding the expectations in terms of skills and recruitment. The more companies we talk to, the more valuable information we get!
In concrete terms, many projects have been or will be put in place to keep the curriculums up to date. Sebastien first recalls the concept of ‘’second chance school’’ that made PSE, which implies opening up the recruitment criteria: "25% of slow learners will be part of the program because if we don’t give them that opportunity, no one will do it". Given the background of the beneficiaries and their personal difficulties, it is necessary to identify those who have more difficulty in learning and to act quickly with appropriate pedagogy and education: "Our role is to give them the confidence they need and to ensure that they can benefit from good opportunities". On the other hand, fast learners will also have opportunities matching their abilities. The PSE network in Asia and Europe represents a great perspective of collaboration to send students abroad. In addition, these students should also access highly qualified internships and a mentoring program will be launched to support them in their professional project.
What would training be without practice! Indeed, Sebastien’s vision is also focused on the practice by working closely with companies and give access to them: "The notion of the company is crucial. We must prepare students for the professional world". Great ideas have blossomed, such as a sales room that will allow students to be more comfortable in their future internship, or the reproduction of a real business room specializing in purchasing and recruitment. As digital processes multiply more and more, studying HR platforms, CRM, accounting software, Facebook ads and the basics of algorithms has become essential. The experience of guest speakers from all over the world also complements training on specific themes, as well as visits of students to companies to discover their daily activities: "There are many things to do with companies and I want to expand our network of partners in Cambodia".
The strength of PSE students is their motivation: "Our students are determined and know that they have to put in more effort than others to succeed, so their high level of softskills is an asset that allows companies to trust us". As a result, many initiatives for the PSE School of Business and one last exciting project that Sebastien is proud to announce: the creation of a Web Developer Academy in 2024. This digital school will train full stack developers: "Companies in Cambodia are working more and more on software and web applications developments, and therefore need digital profiles. The demand exists, and meeting the needs has always been the mission of PSE".
