Kangan Institute has partnered with the Cambodian Government’s Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training and RMA Cambodia to officially open the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) – Cambodia.
Located in Phnom Penh, ACE Cambodia is a purpose built technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institution preparing Cambodia’s future automotive workforce, including clean energy vehicle technicians, painters, panel beaters and dealership professionals.
ACE Cambodia has been designed and developed with Kangan Institute as a knowledge partner, drawing on the model and training systems of Kangan Institute’s Automotive Centre of Excellence at Docklands – Australia’s leading automotive training facility.
Through the partnership, Kangan Institute is providing Australian vocational education expertise to support Cambodia to strengthen its TVET sector, build clear training pathways for the automotive workforce and expand opportunities for learners at all stages of their careers.
Quick facts: ACE Cambodia
· The 16,000 square-metre facility features eight fully equipped training spaces, a state-of-the-art automotive body repair and refinishing workshop, a Ford-sponsored vehicle manufacturing and assembly line, and dedicated hybrid, electric and new energy vehicle laboratories.
· Training is delivered through both structured cohorts and flexible, competency-based learning, depending on student need.
· Based on the Australian apprenticeship system, “earn and learn” apprenticeships are central to delivery, combining paid employment with structured on and off the job training, supported by online learning and hands-on practical instruction.
More than 26 courses are planned or currently underway, with 40 students already training. Over time, ACE Cambodia has the capacity to support more than 3,000 enrolments annually.
The project is supported by the Victorian Government’s Yes to International Students Fund and the Australian Government’s Australia-Southeast Asia Professional Placements Program – collectively strengthening skills and professional mobility through partnerships.
Kangan Institute's Automotive Centre of Excellence at Docklands sets the benchmark for automotive training in Australia, skilling approximately 5,000 students each year across paint and panel, light and heavy vehicles, clean energy vehicles, motorsport and more.
Kangan Institute is also a knowledge partner for the International Automobile Centre of Excellence in the Indian State of Gujarat, in partnership with Maruti Suzuki and the Gujarati Government.
Visit the ACE Cambodia website here.
Quote attributable to Kangan Institute CEO Laura Macpherson:
“Kangan Institute is proud to partner with the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, RMA Cambodia and the Australian and Victorian Governments to share decades of expertise from our Automotive Centre of Excellence and support workforce capability uplift in Cambodia.
“Together, we are focused on strengthening trainer capability and embedding quality skills to support the long‑term growth of Cambodia’s automotive sector.”
(Bendigo Kangan Institute Board Chair Sharan Burrow AC at the opening ceremony.)
(The Automotive Centre of Excellence - Cambodia.)
