Ict In Thailand

[Welshman]

For the past 20 years I've been involved in FE and adult training in the field of IT (now called ICT). As part of my current duties at this college, I have also been working on e-learning platforms and materials.

I had thought that there might be quite a demand for this in Thailand, but can find hardly any reference to it. My son, who lives and works over there, said 'forget it, and just get on with teaching English'.

I am also ECDL qualified tester and examiner (ICDL in other countries). I have been in touch with the ICDL office in Bkk who advise me that there are only two institutions in the whole of Thailand registered as ICDL centres, but both those are 'closed' centres (which means they only offer the training and qualification to staff - not members of the paying public or even part of academic programmes).

Obviously, as I intend to move in the next few months I shall have to heed my son (and what I see on Ajarn) and concentrate on English, but it does miff me somewhat that I shall have to throw 20 years of experience out of the window.

Does anyone know whether there is any sign of this area growing, or of any institutions which are involved.

Maybe I am flogging a dead horse ?

[Khutan]

Not really, no.

If you are lucky and have a friend in upper management then you may get a role, otherwise, stick to teaching, its alot more predictable and easier by many hunderd times to get a job

[Welshman]

Not really, no.

If you are lucky and have a friend in upper management then you may get a role, otherwise, stick to teaching, its alot more predictable and easier by many hunderd times to get a job

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Sorry if I wasn't clear - it's a teaching post I wanted but in ICT (school, college, training centre, whatever)

[Khutan]

There are a few of those around, just get on the phone and try. I know somwone offered an ICT teaching job upcountry with housing and 32k a month.

You just have to wotk the phone.

[Welshman]

There are a few of those around, just get on the phone and try. I know somwone offered an ICT teaching job upcountry with housing and 32k a month.

You just have to wotk the phone.

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Thanks mate

[chownah]

There is a community college in Nong Khai that would love to have you but the problem is that they pay next to nothing and most of the staff are volunteers. Its called First Global Community College. You could google for it.

[Rumpole]

There is a community college in Nong Khai that would love to have you but the problem is that they pay next to nothing and most of the staff are volunteers.  Its called First Global Community College.  You could google for it.

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The perennial Thai plea of poverty really does wear a little thin after a while. Some of their so-called universities charge students as much or more than many Western countries, yet pay their academic staff a pittance with few if any allowances, work them like coolies for it, while building Potemkin campuses for billions of baht in order to line someone's pockets with lucrative construction contracts and kickbacks.

To the OP: Thailand has very little to offer the professional educator. You may well find yourself fleeing FE in the UK, only to encounter a different, and possibly even more intolerable set of problems in Thailand. The country attracts few real teachers, and the abysmal education system and Byzantine immigration regulations quickly manage to alienate many of those who do venture there.

There are other places in Asia which place a higher value upon education, and which offer far superior working conditions and better quality of life than Thailand, IMHO. If I were going to volunteer my labour for nothing, I would find a needier and more deserving case than the Thais.

[Scott]

Ditto to your comments. Thailand is a very challenging place to work. I think it is most challenging for experienced, credentialed teachers. The education ministry is all over the place with regulations for a starter.

Most schools are very autocratic. The foreign teacher is there to do what you are told to do. They don't provide resources and tend to be critical of a lot of techniques.

At the end of the day you go through a lot of work and they decide you must pass them no matter what they have done.

It's certainly not hopeless, but it's definitely two steps forward, one step back.

Remember: Thai culture must be preserved at all costs and as foreigners, we are likely to corrup that.

[mbkudu]

Thailand may be good for the retiree teacher, but if you want to earn money and do something worthwhile, China is the wave of the future. Unlike the Thais, the Chinese take education very seriously and appreciate and reward good teachers.

After I get the necessary paperwork together I am seriously considering the plunge to China.

[Rumpole]

Thailand may be good for the retiree teacher, but if you want to earn money and do something worthwhile, China is the wave of the future. Unlike the Thais, the Chinese take education very seriously and appreciate and reward good teachers.

After I get the necessary paperwork together I am seriously considering the plunge to China.

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I came to China three years ago, after leaving Thailand in disgust. Best move I could have made. Whilst things are certainly not perfect, I have a job where I am liked and respected by the students, my colleagues and the university administration. I have complete academic freedom to do whatever I want in the classroom. I negotiated a much higher salary and other benefits unheard of in Thailand, and work a fraction of the hours. I also have about six months PAID holiday a year! I teach pleasant, generally motivated students, in an easy-going, stress free environment. Everything that Thailand is purported to be, but in reality is not.

We all have different perceptions and experiences, and there are as many horror stories about teaching in China as there are about teaching in Thailand. In my experience, however, universities here are much more pleasant and enjoyable places to work than their Thai counterparts. Lots of older, experienced or semi-retired teachers here too.

If you are interested in teaching ICT in China, send me a PM.