Thai students seek job security with local firms amid change to 4.0, survey says

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

WHILE MANY Thai students hope to work for global giants such as Google and Microsoft, most still consider domestic firms and state enterprises ideal employers, a study has revealed.

 

An annual global survey by research and consulting firm Universum found Google to be the top choice for Thai business and commerce students, followed by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Thai Airways International, Siam Cement Group and PTT. 

 

The findings, released today, indicate the next five most popular companies in order are: GMM Grammy, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), Line Corp, Workpoint Entertainment and automaker BMW Group. 

 

 Of the top 10 employers, seven were founded in Thailand. 

 

Engineering students regard PTT, Siam Cement, Egat, Google and THAI as the five best employers in Thailand. 

Google is the only foreign brand. 

 

The engineering students’ sixth to 10th choices would be, in order: Chevron, Toyota, Microsoft, BMW and CH Karnchang, the last being a Thai firm. 

 

“Thai students differ from many of their Asian counterparts, who mainly aspire to work at multinationals,” said Rachele Focardi, chief strategy officer for the region at Universum. 

 

“Thai students prefer privately owned domestic organisations.” 

 

More than 1.3 million students in 57 countries participated in the online survey, including 4,749 at Thai universities.

 

It found Thai students’ primary career goals were job security and stability, in contrast to students everywhere else who named work-life balance as their uppermost concern. Work-life balance was of secondary consideration for Thais, and their third priority was “autonomy or independence”.

 

 

Changing priorities

 

“As Thailand’s economy undergoes a major shift under the 4.0 digital-economy initiative, students’ quest for a secure and stable career increases,” said Pratik Sabherwal, head of advisory for Universum in the region. 

 

“Thai students’ affinity for security and stability is much stronger compared to students elsewhere in the region.” 

 

The top five attributes Thai students look for in a job are a competitive base salary (chosen by 56.3 per cent), competitive benefits (54.3), a friendly work environment (50.7), secure employment (47.6), and a clear path to advancement (47.4).

 

“[Employers] need to fully understand what it is their target talent seeks from them and they also need to be effective in communicating it,” said Mike Parsons, head of brand activation. 

 

“Unlike anywhere else in the region, salary and benefits come out on top in Thailand, which means that being transparent about intrinsic rewards is more of an advantage in this market than in others. 

 

“Employers who are perceived as paying well and offer a secure |and friendly working environment will find themselves in pole position for the best talent in Thailand.”

 

The study also showed that Thai students’ salary expectations after graduation have decreased from two years ago. 

 

The average expected annual salary among female business students was Bt413,698, compared to Bt438,734 in 2016. Among males, |it was Bt501,757, down from Bt515,316. 

 

Among female engineering students, it was Bt433,227, a decrease from Bt472,623, and among |males it was Bt485,958, down from Bt541,408. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30350271

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-18

''Thai Students differ from many of their Asian counterparts ''.    Not surprising is it when they are mainly under educated in comparison to Students from countries like Singapore and Malaysia.   Most Thai 'Graduates' will be looking for jobs through 'connections' in Thai companies, family ties etc, they can't even speak English well enough to communicate in a Multinational company.

So almost 50% want and expect good advancement. Good luck to that, given possible mere 5% opportunities advanced positions will be available. Majority will toil in dead end jobs, as in many western countries.

58 minutes ago, jerojero said:

So almost 50% want and expect good advancement. Good luck to that, given possible mere 5% opportunities advanced positions will be available. Majority will toil in dead end jobs, as in many western countries.

So true.  The turnover at some of these tech behemoths is a few years.   Some of the hanger ons at some of these places make good moon lighters, as they are excited by the prospects of learning and applying skills their stodgy employer does not value    If you are patient, some of the smaller shops in Thailand do good work that cannot be done anywhere else for a very attractive price.

 

Taiwan, back in the day, had mostly batam weight businesses that could react quickly to customer needs.   Layoffs were rare.  There always seemed to be enough jobs. 

 

Thailand would be better off not praising the behemoths, as it is the smaller companies that innovate.  The best places to learn real skills are shops of 30 people or less, and the boss working right there besides you and he gets it and he makes sure you get it too.   There are no dress codes, strict time off guidelines or meaningless quarterly employee evaluations.  Your reviews are up to the minute.  A taste of corporate and government life is a good thing, but it rarely allows you to reach your potential by itself.   Big government loves big business as they have similar ecosystems.  Neither are fun or innovative. 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The average expected annual salary among female business students was Bt413,698, compared to Bt438,734 in 2016. Among males, |it was Bt501,757, down from Bt515,316. 

 

Among female engineering students, it was Bt433,227, a decrease from Bt472,623, and among |males it was Bt485,958, down from Bt541,408.

 

That should be an eye-opener for all the TVF guys claiming that 15-20,000 baht a month is a great salary for a college grad, and can't understand why their turnover is so high when they pay half of what the graduates expect. 

 

Those in-grateful kids.

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai students seek job security with local firms amid change to 4.0, survey says

This reminds me of a 2015 article, Fresh graduates hardest hit as joblessness rises

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/828010-fresh-graduates-hardest-hit-as-joblessness-rises-in-thailand/

• There are currently 361,297 people who are unemployed and 164,159 of them are newly graduated
• Most of the job vacancies these days require a vocational to high-vocational certificate, which the new graduates in such degrees [as bachelor's] still lack
• the quality of the new graduates is low, which causes the salary rate to be low too

And of a 2016 article, Japanese fret over Thai labour force

http://www.hrinasia.com/hr-news/japanese-fret-over-thai-labour-force/

• Japanese investors are raising concerns over the skills of Thai workers, who they say fail to meet the needs of major companies

More recently in 2018, EEC needs additional 30,000 workers

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1040628-eec-needs-additional-30000-workers/

• investors expressed their concern about the inadequacy of a sufficiently skilled workforce

Thai students are also very challenged for domestic job security.

 

 

 

7 hours ago, impulse said:

 

That should be an eye-opener for all the TVF guys claiming that 15-20,000 baht a month is a great salary for a college grad, and can't understand why their turnover is so high when they pay half of what the graduates expect. 

 

Those in-grateful kids.

 

 

Students expectations are quoted.

 

On the basis of of what "top" companies pay to "top" grads?

 

Reality is somewhat different for the oversupply who like to call themselves "Benz".

 

 

Edited July 18, 20188 yr by Enoon