New study reveals Thai businesses are bullish on technology growth, need more skilled labour

By The Nation

 

FILE photo

 

Thailand’s business leaders are concerned that a lack of talent may affect their ability to stay on track for growth in the mid-term future, a new study by Korn Ferry shows.

 

Of the business leaders, 46 per cent said that the shortage of talent may force them to increase salaries, which will be unsustainable. 

 

Most businesses in Thailand have ambitious plans to grow their revenue in the near and long term, with 84 per cent of them saying they plan to grow by an average of 36 per cent by 2020 and 47 per cent by 2030. The have similar aggressive plans to boost their human resources – 80 per cent of the businesses intend to boost their headcount by an average of 37 per cent by 2020 and by 48 per cent by 2030. 

 

However, leaders in Thai organisations surveyed are more cautious about the availability of highly skilled talent. Only 30 per cent of top executives think there will be enough workers by 2030, as opposed to 48 per cent business leaders worldwide. 

 

The also see technology as being more important than human talent in the future, with 82 per cent saying that technology will overtake humans over the same time period, while 70 per cent rank technology as their highest priority when developing and executing their company’s strategy.

 

However, most of the business leaders in Thailand do not see the future as a simple battle of man versus machine – 88 per cent said their companies will need more highly skilled workers, with the same number agreeing that technology itself will boost the need for highly skilled jobs.

 

In a move to deliver their strategies, 86 per cent of the business leaders have forecast their needs for skilled talent, but only 9 per cent have plans that extend through to 2030. 

 

Though they are anticipating the roles that will have the most impact in the future of work, 82 per cent say they find it easier to plan around technology and other tangible assets, citing pressure from shareholders for quick returns and short leadership tenures as contributing factors.

 

“The explosion in technology has vastly hastened the pace of business development. Flexible forecasting and business modelling are now more relevant than traditional models, such as five-year plans,” said Michael Distefano, president for Korn Ferry’s Asia-Pacific operations. 

 

“While scenario planning is critical to business growth, it rarely extends to a ‘people plan’. As skilled workers become the lever of growth in the new economy, organisations must shift this mindset to become more agile and adopt a long-term approach when devising their talent strategy.”

 

The world is teetering on the brink of an impending skilled labour shortage, set to hit developed and developing economies alike. For Thailand, it’s a challenge of significant proportions, and one that could constrain the country’s economic growth by 6.4 per cent in 2030. Globally, the Korn Ferry study forecasts a talent shortage of 85.2 million skilled workers, resulting in US$8.452 trillion (Bt265.3 trillion) in unrealised revenue across 20 of the world’s major economies in 2030. By 2020, the worker deficit could hit 20.3 million people.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/business/30364940

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-02-28

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Of the business leaders, 46 per cent said that the shortage of talent may force them to increase salaries, which will be unsustainable.

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

88 percent [of Thai companies] said their companies will need more highly skilled workers

Too bad this article didn't focus more seriously on how bad the skills gap is in Thailand. Not only in tech but across the spectrum, other than perhaps basic farming. 

 

Thailand is in significant trouble. They have neither the people currently nor the education system to prepare them in a generation. Will they be forced to import talent or will the country's leaders be happy to let the country sink as long as the Top 1% are doing well. 

 

Evil farangs and other foreigners or remaining undeveloped. Tough decisions for the Thais! 

31 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

 

Too bad this article didn't focus more seriously on how bad the skills gap is in Thailand. Not only in tech but across the spectrum, other than perhaps basic farming. 

 

Thailand is in significant trouble. They have neither the people currently nor the education system to prepare them in a generation. Will they be forced to import talent or will the country's leaders be happy to let the country sink as long as the Top 1% are doing well. 

 

Evil farangs and other foreigners or remaining undeveloped. Tough decisions for the Thais! 

Given my stepdaughter's 5 year career at university in which it appears that she has attained about the level of a Western 13 year old,her many excuses as to why she and her peers were unable to speak English and her total lack of knowledge (or interest in) the countries adjacent to Thailand-let alone the rest of the world-I should say that Thailand's chances are Buckley's and None.

Absolutely right, Odysseus123 (above). I have extensive experience of Thai education at both the secondary-school and university levels, and when I first came to Thailand I was shocked at how terribly low the academic level was - and still is. Thai university degrees truly are (as far as I can tell) certificates testifying to academic/intellectual levels that would literally be no higher than those of 13-year-olds or 14-year-olds in Europe. 

 

Thailand has a massive, massive way to go on the intellectual/academic front. But it won't go there - because the long-sustained plan is and always has been to keep people ignorant, unable to think critically, and thus compliant, malleable, obedient serfs in the service of the heartless 1%.

 

Edited February 28, 20197 yr by Eligius

26 minutes ago, Eligius said:

Absolutely right, Odysseus123 (above). I have extensive experience of Thai education at both the secondary-school and university levels, and when I first came to Thailand I was shocked at how terribly low the academic level was - and still is. Thai university degrees truly are (as far as I can tell) certificates testifying to academic/intellectual levels that would literally be no higher than those of 13-year-olds or 14-year-olds in Europe. 

 

Thailand has a massive, massive way to go on the intellectual/academic front. But it won't go there - because the long-sustained plan is and always has been to keep people ignorant, unable to think critically, and thus compliant, malleable, obedient serfs in the service of the heartless 1%.

 

For the Thai a monk ordination party is more important than exams for school going kids.

 

There is the core of the problem...

Agree with you both above, @Odysseus123 and @Eligius.

 

The strategy of keeping the brown Thais well-fed and uneducated worked fairly well for manufacturing, but it will not work for knowledge work. 

 

It was difficult for most economies to develop into knowledge economies. Thailand has the enormous added, unique challenge in overcoming their incredible and pervasive arrogance. 

 

Edited February 28, 20197 yr by Fex Bluse

All the above are very good posts!

 

My general impression is-and I would like other poster's input on this-that the home grown xenophobia has been actually rising over the last 5 years and that Thai schoolchildren have been re-militarized to an incredible extent-and the grip of the Buddhist establishment on the education system has been equally enhanced.

 

My daughter was far more open and enthusiastic as a 16 year old then she is at age 23- it is now "Thailand,Thailand uber alles.."

 

They have slammed the door and this is how they want to be-photo taken by a friend in 1967.

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

need more skilled labour

So plenty of jobs for Thais.

Excellent posts above. Thailand is screwed. 

so the local market stalls will be run by robots? Or am i missing something?. Cuz thats where thailands at as a whole. Wont need thais working in the future but not to worry they will all join the army and everything will be great. 

4 minutes ago, unamazedloso said:

so the local market stalls will be run by robots? Or am i missing something?. Cuz thats where thailands at as a whole. Wont need thais working in the future but not to worry they will all join the army and everything will be great. 

One Wallmart with 50 employee's can replace a large Thai market with 300 vendors....maybe even more. It will also decrease the number of vehicles needed by 80% because the staff can come on motocycles.

Mr PM would like to spend more budget on military and conscription. Maybe they should focus more and growing more skilled soldiers. They can be sent to the middle east as mercenaries.

45 minutes ago, Youlike said:

One Wallmart with 50 employee's can replace a large Thai market with 300 vendors....maybe even more. It will also decrease the number of vehicles needed by 80% because the staff can come on motocycles.

Thais are far less productive across the economy but they are particularly bad in the middle and lower socioeconomic grouping. 

 

Without being too harsh on them, I tend to view them as almost useless. They are mostly just extremely inexpensive low-skilled to semi-skilled bodies that can just barely approximate a poorly run business. 

 

I put most of the blame on their fair-skinned masters who pretend to care for them but show little effort to prepare them for the world of work. 

 

By the time Thailand manages to foster tech talent, the whole field has been taken over by AI already. Lost case, stick to farming.

5 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

My general impression is-and I would like other poster's input on this-that the home grown xenophobia has been actually rising over the last 5 years and that Thai schoolchildren have been re-militarized to an incredible extent-and the grip of the Buddhist establishment on the education system has been equally enhanced.

Reading foreign news sites that report on Thai affairs and are not suppressed by Thai government, the powers that be tightening their grip is a common theme. Schools in Thailand are their primary indoctrination tool, as well as conscription and the usual Thai anthem stuff, etc. Your impression seems to match.

Thai businesses complain about skill levels but most invest zero in training or supporting schools or universities.

 

Recruit more interns and value and train them and proficiency rockets. First Direct Bank in the UK attributes its success to investing in staff with subsidized crèches and canteens, free car parks, flat management structure and training their own staff to fill vacancies on promotion rather than recruiting from outside. 

 

Very low attrition rate and happy and efficient staff. I’ve visited their call centres and this is all true.

 

Can you imagine this in Thailand?