The recruitment of the 150 students for intake XVIII has been launched. The first stage (submission of applications) was marked by a record number of NGOs involved in the Open Day aimed at introducing Sala Baï and by the possibility of applying online.
From 8 January to 20 February 2019, young Cambodians from extremely poor families submit applications to Sala Baï in the hope of embarking on a better life. Information on the recruitment campaign is widely disseminated via various channels such as a poster campaign, social networks, the Sala Baï website and spot radio announcements in the Cambodian provinces, especially in the northern provinces on the Thai border which are the most impacted by human trafficking. According to the latest report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, published in August 2017, of the 4 million migrants living in Thailand, 90% are from Cambodia, Laos and Burma.
The recruitment campaign is also promoted by our partner NGOs. This year, a record number of 21 NGOs, mainly French, Cambodian, Korean and Australian, were involved in the Open Day aimed at introducing Sala Baï to the young people they support.
The application form has been simplified and can be filled in on line in around 15 minutes. These changes mean that it is quicker and easier for young people who meet our selection criteria to apply.
From 3 to 10 March 2019, a session of written tests in maths and Khmer will be held and a first cut will be made. This enables our teachers to check the level of education of applicants who need to have grade 6 for admission to Cooking, Restaurant, Housekeeping and Beauty Therapy and grade 10 for Front Office training.
Our social workers will then travel across Cambodia from April to June, meeting families, gaining an understanding of the motivation of candidates and checking that the socio-economic criteria of potential students are met. During this recruitment period, social workers also work on raising families’ awareness of opportunities presented by Beauty Therapy training, a newer discipline that is less well understood than the others, by highlighting career prospects.
Following these visits, a list of candidates who have made the final cut will be drawn up in July. Those selected to be part of the new intake will have to wait until September 2019 to start their new lives!