Thailand Has Global Ambition to Become Tech Talent Hub by 2030

[snoop1130]

 

Thailand is gearing up to become a worldwide tech powerhouse, thanks to its strategic location, wealth of resources, and intelligent policies designed to attract young professionals, top industry figures say. On August 9 at the Techsauce Global Summit 2024, Karndee Leopairote, head of foresight and digital assets at MQDC’s FutureTales Lab, discussed how Thailand’s plan aims to enhance knowledge sharing and nurture tech talent for export.

 

Thailand's reputation as a business-friendly country coupled with its natural assets, tasty food, and affordable lifestyle could attract global tech talent. Cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Koh Pha Ngan are becoming popular among digital nomads. The country also boasts a strong digital infrastructure, with high-speed internet accessible to over 80% of citizens and nearly all young adults owning smartphones.

 

To make Thailand more attractive, it offers easy visa programs and fewer regulations for individual talents, startups, investors, and expats. However, Karndee points out that further regulatory improvements are needed to encourage innovation. The importance of considering the interests and challenges faced by younger generations when designing policies is also emphasized.

 

By 2030, it's expected that Gen Alpha will make up 11% of the world labor market. As this generation is tech-savvy and prioritizes passion over conventional jobs, they are the target of Thailand's attraction strategy. Reports show that 71% of young professionals prefer working remotely or with a flexible schedule over promotions tied to office attendance.

 

Santitarn Sathirathai, an advisor to the Parliamentary Committee on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, highlighted the economic advantage of making Thailand a talent hub. Due to an ageing society, the country needs more skilled foreign workers. He suggested that providing a high standard of living for expat families could help attract tech professionals to Thailand.

 

Santitarn also stressed the benefits of keeping the cost of living affordable and offering tax incentives, compared to living in higher-cost cities like Singapore and Hong Kong. He believes that Thai citizens who have worked overseas will return home with a global mindset, vastly contributing to the nation’s development.

 

Patama Chantaruck, Managing Director of Accenture Thailand, emphasized the need for future IT workers to keep up with fast-changing technology. Accenture has recently partnered with Prince of Songkla University to develop a cybersecurity course, nurturing the next generation of tech talent in Thailand.

 

A study by Accenture suggested a "net better off" approach for organizations, which involves investing in training and continuous learning, along with providing inclusive physical and mental health support, alongside financial benefits. Patama noted Accenture’s commitment to designing inclusive welfare schemes for employees and supporting flexible work schedules. With a diverse workforce comprising 17 nationalities, Accenture Thailand places high importance on fostering international collaborations.

 

File photo for reference only

 

-- 2024-08-13

 

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[Metapod]

would need higher salaries and lower taxes to be competitive.

[BangkokReady]

4 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand's reputation as a business-friendly country

 

Huh?

[DjSilver08]

Tech Talent Hub 1954.

 

First Thailand needs to become a real democracy and not a Military Banana State.

[NorthernRyland]

This is a country that requires 2 vertical feet of paper documents to be hand filled and signed in duplicate each year. They need us for then we need them.

[Reddavy]

Thailand the hub of hubs. Another pile of 💩

[steven100]

huba .. huba ... huba ...    the tech hub ..   is that after the world tourism hub or before the Asian aviation hub .... 

 

so many hubs here ....   it's the world of hubs.  

[ftpjtm]

The country that can't get the portal to do online 90 day reporting to work, aims to be a tech hub...

[JustMyOpinion]

Before they become a "HUB", shouldn't they become more proficient and professional?

[runamok27]

Are foreigners even allowed to work in tech in Thailand?

[steven100]

7 minutes ago, ftpjtm said:

The country that can't get the portal to do online 90 day reporting to work, aims to be a tech hub...

yeah '    it's a bit of a joke isn't it .....   half of the thai websites don't work properly if there's any boxes or information to insert,  also any request for powerball results or any lottery check comes up access denied .... 

they really are pathetic. 

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand is gearing up to become a worldwide tech powerhouse, thanks to its strategic location, wealth of resources, and intelligent policies designed to attract young professionals, top industry figures say.

Delusional.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Huh?

That is stretching it a bit.

[hotchilli]

Thailand is a destination for Youtubers, influencers and digital nomads... that's all.

[Mburo]

Chapter 17…..

[ChasingTheSun]

Thailand should setup Phuket as a ZERO tax tech hub, allowing conditional foreign tech business ownership of land just on that island. 
 

it would be a huge success.

[nobodysfriend]

They do want to become this ... and this ... some crazy guy in the administration has the job to invent new " hubs " that Thailand will want to become , every day .

Pity that Thailand , most of the time , does not fulfill the basic requirements to make their dreams come true ...

[JustMyOpinion]

42 minutes ago, runamok27 said:

Are foreigners even allowed to work in tech in Thailand?

Yes...as teachers... the result is only as good as the input... that's one problem.

[rct99q]

2 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

The country that can't get the portal to do online 90 day reporting to work, aims to be a tech hub...

I think you are misinterpreting the idea. They are looking to attract tech minded people, not the technology itself. However bringing in tech savvy people will help develop systems things like the portal for immigration.

[Muhendis]

So it would seem that the powers that be have now given up on educating their own people and will import intelligence from elsewhere to claim the tech hub award.

[Asquith Production]

If you are going to do business with Thais then you will need to learn Thai. Very few have English proficiency to enable to engage in anything technical

[stoner]

is there really anything they are not the hub of ? 

[spidermike007]

The simple minded authorities need to wake up and make some sacrifices such as lowering luxury taxes, lowering wine taxes, cleaning up the air, making the highways safer, allowing more private air travel, helicopter travel, high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways. 

 

And now they have invited in the Bratva, by opening up the country to all Russians. Quantity over quality only works if you are selling $2 items at a swap meet. Dumb and dumber. 

 

They need to stop making predictions. They are always wrong. Too many variables. Of course there are other factors, the economy is slowing down worldwide, and we may yet see a rather significant recession or correction. But the army destruction and decimation did not help, and having a completely incompetent cabinet in place right now does not help either. Neither does their obsession with stealing elections.

 

How on earth do they think a guy like Srettha could run the economy or the nation? He is an imposter and he is NOT popular, for many reasons. 

[animalmagic]

2 hours ago, Reddavy said:

Thailand the hub of hubs. Another pile of 💩

The hub of hubris!

[Pouatchee]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

By 2030, it's expected that Gen Alpha will make up 11% of the world labor market. As this generation is tech-savvy and prioritizes passion over conventional jobs, they are the target of Thailand's attraction strategy.

 

thailand needs to ATTRACT talent cos its own kids are failing miserably at school. were they to upgrade their education system ... mostly admin and qualified teachers... they wouldnt need to outsource the future tech jobs

[DualSportBiker]

I've been hiring technical roles here since 1991, network engineers, data engineers, software developers and database designers. I won't hold my breath!

 

I have several Thai friends with software houses here. They complain bitterly about the quality of graduate talent. Two of them graduated overseas and had successful businesses there before returning. They are the most vocal and negative. Vietnam has produced more software engineers in the last 5 years that Thailand has since 1990. 65% of IT graduates in Thailand don't work in IT! Thai companies have made it clear that they view software skills are low-value and look to fresh grads to replace anyone asking for a reasonable salary. The effect is clearly visible; a complete lack of quality software talent and those that are qualified ask for stupid packages. One mate spent nearly 20 years in Oz working for software houses. On his return the only way he could get a salary that reflected his experience was in marketing! He was told flatly "We don't pay that kind of money for software skills."

 

Admittedly that attitude is fading and companies are slowly realising that they can't do squat without quality software capabilities. But they can't turn this ship by 2030.

[Millcx]

Sorry .. What year is this ??? … Wake me up in 2030 so I can read how wrong the news was in 2024

[DualSportBiker]

1 hour ago, runamok27 said:

Are foreigners even allowed to work in tech in Thailand?

It is a BOI supported sector. We can own 100% of our own companies :)

[decca60]

the day they will be able to dig the right size hole, put into it the right size fisher and the right size screw to fix my shower properly, this day only I will start to believe Thailand is a ''technical hub"

[DualSportBiker]

5 minutes ago, Pouatchee said:

 

thailand needs to ATTRACT talent cos its own kids are failing miserably at school. were they to upgrade their education system ... mostly admin and qualified teachers... they wouldnt need to outsource the future tech jobs

Tech savvy to them means they are users of the latest tech. Frightening enough, I've been told that as I don't IG or SnapChat, I am not a techie - those are user apps. Being tech savvy is not about being a dolt user - techs make stuff, and not clips of puppies. They make software, apps, design widgets and tools, understand operating systems and security procedures. Knowing how to post to social media is the modern equivalent of getting a letter into a letter box!