13m need training for economic upgrade, experts say 

By   WICHIT CHAITRONG 
THE NATION 

 

 

THAILAND NEEDS to turn 13 million people into skilled workers in order to upgrade the economy and escape the middle-income trap, said local and international economists.
 

Labour force upgrading is seen as one of the key challenges for Thailand as the country moves towards Economy 4.0, Kiatanantha Lounkaew, economic lecturer said yesterday at a seminar entitled “Re-Design Thailand” hosted by Thammasat University ‘s Faculty of Economics.

 

The proportion of skilled workers in Thailand is only 14.4 per cent of the country’s total labour force, according to Human Report 2016.

 

This is considerably lower than in countries that are well on the way to Economy 4.0, such as Singapore, Sweden, Finland and Germany whose shares of skilled labour are around 45 per cent to 50 per cent, said Kiatanantha.

 

The figure from the report suggested that Thailand needs to turn 12.81 million into skilled workers.

 

The government has been promoting vocational education aiming at producing more skilled workers. 

 

“But it is not only quantity that counts, it is also quality,” he said. Some vocational colleges have worked closely with private companies in order to train their students at factories. But we need to scale it up to nationwide level, he suggested.

 

As the government promotes 10-targeted industries which require highly skilled workers, the fast-changing world of business has led to a wide gap of skilled labourers.

 

Significant skills gap

 

A recent survey found that there are significant skills gap in industries which have been designated as champion for Thailand 4.0 , such as ICT, food processing, automobile , logistics, health and wellness , he said.

 

“The challenge is how to close the skills gap as soon as possible , and many countries have succeeded in doing that ” he said.

 

In addition, substantial skills gap is found in the area of creativity, responsibility,work discipline and ability to put knowledge into practice, he said.

 

He said the import of specialists from abroad may address the problem to a certain degree but the government must make sure that these foreigners would also train Thai workers.

 

He referred to the government new smart visa programme which will allow specialists stay in the country for four years. 

 

Asked whether he agreed with a plan to raise daily minimum wage nationwide , Kiatanantha said that raising of minimum wage would help consumption and support labourers to cope with the rising cost of livings.

 

Speaking at the same forum, Jong-Wha Lee, director of Asiatic Research Institute at Korea University, said good human capital is essential for a developing economy to become a high-income country. Other factors include strengthening the rule of law, maintaining a high level of investment and a high growth path. 

 

 Thailand economic growth suffered sharply after the 1997 Asian financial crisis before rebounded, but in recently year growth have been slower at around 2-3 per cent. 

 

It is projected that the Thai economy needs to grow an average of 5 per cent annually in order to achieve high income status in the next 20 years.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30336600

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-01-19

Perhaps a better headline for this article would be;

 

Thai Education System is dismal failure

 

I can't argue with the substance noted in the piece, but if you need to re-train 13 million of your workforce, then they were not trained properly to begin with.

 

How is it that most, if not all, of the people at the Ministry of Education still have jobs?

 

55555...compare a skilled worker from Germany to a Thai.....big big difference mate, even if they are both qualified.

The distance between a Thai plumber and a German is as deep  as the Grand Canyon but the cost of the job is equally as large .  

The fact is that Thailand has the third lowest English proficiency in Asia (and dropping) just in front of Mongolia and Cambodia. That doesn't help toward skills sharing and training nor does it help that a Prime Minister goes around telling schoolchildren that the Thai language will become the international language.

 

It is all too apparent that the one group with the biggest lack of skills are the self serving teachers along with those in the education administration. It was revealed recently that many certificates of education are near worthless in Thailand.

 

But all is not lost to the Country because of the lack of skilled labour. They can simply import it like they do unskilled labour. Then the Thai people themselves will ultimately end up as a country of drones.

 

Sadly the chooks are coming home to roost.

 

Edited January 19, 20188 yr by Cadbury

 

Quote

In addition, substantial skills gap is found in the area of creativity, responsibility,work discipline and ability to put knowledge into practice, he said.

I would add communication to the front of that list, but that really is Thailand in a nutshell. And all of it the consequence of Thai education which appears to be purpose built to produce this result. I am certain that the ruling class is completely satisfied with all of it. As their kids are educated overseas or in private schools.

So it will take 15 to 20 years to train, question is by whom,  adequate teachers, and then another 15 years to train the next generation of workers .
Thus, realistically speaking, by 2050 we will start to see results already !

2 hours ago, akampa said:

The distance between a Thai plumber and a German is as deep  as the Grand Canyon but the cost of the job is equally as large .  

and the cost maybe higher when taking into account that many jobs need to be redone every few years at least.
(in case of doubt, I suggest to hold a survey to find out how many houses do NOT have an airlock in the sewage system in Thailand, and outside of Thailand.)

7 hours ago, webfact said:

that there are significant skills gap in industries which have been designated as champion for Thailand 4.0 , such as ICT, food processing, automobile , logistics, health and wellness

they all know Facebook!

Keep beating the drum - We are number one, We are number one, We are number one.

 

As Cadbury said, the pigeons have come home to roost, the abysmal education system in this country will be its downfall. Unfortunately it is now too late to do anything, wait for Thailand to go down the pan big style with any slack being gratefuly taken up by other SEA Nations.

 

You had your chance Thailand, too late now, go and sit facing the corner with the pointy dunce hat on.

4 hours ago, Anak Nakal said:

they all know Facebook!

Old folks app.

If Thailand gets the skill training they need wages and costs will skyrocket up and all the old expat retirees will have to leave.  Do you folks realize that? 

Sadly most School leavers are only fit for working in 7/11, as cooks, in shops playing on their phones or security guards. I would include drivers as well but not many are capable of even that.

Then there is the lack of work ethic. We helped Mrs brother through College for 2 years training as an electrician and he got a decent job after qualifying. Packed it in after a few months as too far from home, where he now sits about supported by his sisters!

Edited January 19, 20188 yr by Orton Rd

17 minutes ago, amvet said:

If Thailand gets the skill training they need wages and costs will skyrocket up and all the old expat retirees will have to leave.  Do you folks realize that? 

That ain't gonna happen anytime soon, me and you should be okay and I reckon maybe visitors for the next 30 years won't see any upgrade in the education system, so all is good, Thailand 0.0000004 down the pan, coming to a country near you soon. 

Thailand 4.0:

 

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/seven-million-people-watch-busty-isaan-model-make-spicy-somtam-video/

 

"In addition, substantial skills gap is found in the area of creativity, responsibility,work discipline and ability to put knowledge into practice, he said."

 

Which is why:

 

No indigenous automobile industry.

 

No indigenous motorcycle industry.

 

No indigenous aviation (manufacturing) industry.

 

No world brand names in engineering or manufacturing supply.

 

No world brand names in electronic/IT/consumer hardware/home goods.

 

ie None of the bases on which the "4th gen" world became so.

 

They never got past the "copying" stage, it's all second hand.

 

In reality Thailand is still crawling, can't walk, but, with a bit of nice "book larnin"  (Thaistyle) and even more of those worthless certificates they hand out by the truckload, they think they'll be running with the best in no time.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 20188 yr by Enoon