Re-modelling and reconceptualising skills development in Cambodia: How are social enterprises preparing young people for successful transitions between learning and work?

•Preparing young people for successful learning-work transitions by social enterprises' educational and managerial innovations.•Three learning process stages of young people's transition to work: from character formation, to re-skilling and targeting, to ownership development and transfer.•Changing the mind-set from employing beneficiaries to employing employees between a social enterprise and its targeted young people.•Applying pro-poor and value-added strategy between a social enterprise and its customers.•Building a local and sustainable partnership between a social enterprise and other stakeholders.

As new socioeconomic challenges are constantly changing labour market demands in the global South, youth unemployment and underemployment become a growing international and national worry. This research focuses on exploring how social enterprises re-model and reconceptualise skills development in Cambodia to prepare young people for successful transitions between learning and work. An empirical case study of four eminent social enterprises was conducted in Cambodia in 2012. Accordingly, educational and managerial innovations are found in the cases to provide resources, training, and employment opportunities for young people to experience decent work values and eventually learn to assume greater social responsibility.