The CAPRED Facility is Australia’s flagship bilateral economic development program in Cambodia. The Facility supports Cambodia in implementing a range of necessary economic interventions and reforms to maintain the country’s economic transition. These interventions and reforms are primarily aimed at encouraging more productive and inclusive public and private investment, which promotes a resilient, inclusive and sustainable economy (RISE).

CAPRED interventions fall under three technical components including: Agriculture and Agro- processing; Trade, Investment and Enterprise Development and Infrastructure Development; and one Cross-Cutting component comprising: Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI), Climate Resilient initiatives, and policy support. GEDSI and climate are central to all CAPRED’s work.

The cashew sector has been identified as a priority industry due to Cambodia's significant production of raw cashew nuts and the Government's ambition to expand domestic processing capacity. However, the sector continues to face a shortage of skilled workers, supervisors, technicians, and trainers capable of supporting modern processing operations. Skills gaps have emerged as a key constraint to industry growth and investment.

Recognising this skills gap, CAPRED will support the Polytechnic Institute of Kampong Thom (PIKT) and relevant key stakeholders to strengthen its institutional readiness, industry engagement, training systems and sustainability mechanisms. This support will begin with an initial pilot phase leveraging PIKT's existing facilities, trainers, and industry partnerships to test and refine industry-responsive training models prior to the establishment of the dedicated centre, in close collaboration with the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and an Australian TVET institute.