Terrible jobs done by local workers.

[NoshowJones]

that's normal here . . when our electrician was finished connecting the electricity of a new house to the existing one, we found out the day later that our tin roof was hot ! Luckily it was not the rainy season or we would have been grilled to dead on our verandas.

Just make sure that work is done correctly, don't leave builders and construction people unattended. I always watched over the construction from the very beginning to the end, and had been able by thus correcting a few issues so far.

That only works if YOU know how it should be done. Most expats probably don't have a clue.

I always have to go around and redo most of the work they do. I only employ locals because it's not my house and I want someone to blame if it all turns to tears.

Nope it doesnt work even then, they get all arsey and say its the Thai way ( ie bone idle) the next day they dont show up. Been through many, yet to find a single good workman here in 2 years.

They come into your house and leave mess and crap everywhere, dont put down dust sheets, paw all over your walls and then give you a "hit me in the face" grin when you see the mess they have made!

Gee, have I just been lucky?

[CodyB]

There is no emphasis on the skill shortage that plagues Thailand as the majority of "tradespeople" are simply migrant workers who are imported into the cities to fill out the cheap labour slot.

There is no working class to speak in Thailand, this is usually the portion of the community that produces good tradespeople. Any family that is of means will be sending their children to university due the emphasis on tertiary education in Asian countries.

You can go to HK, China, Malaysia and even European countries such as Poland or the Czech Republic and a tradesperson can be had for close to minimum wage. Paying the "tradespeople" more won't improve their workman ship because they don't have the technical know how to achieve that job.

Builders, Electricians in Thailand are at best usually underqualified and at worst little more than hired hands with no experience.

[thaibeachlovers]

On a positive note, I moved into a house and the bathroom floor slopes toward the drain.

On a similar note, my wife paid for someone to install a toilet and lay a concrete floor in a newly built bathroom. Although he didn't slope the floor towards the drain the water does go out under the door, and as it is an OUTDOOR bathroom it was a relatively simple matter to lay some concrete outside the door to direct the water into the pond. The alternative was to dig up the entire new floor.

Worse though, was that the guy who built the outdoor bathroom made it curved in an oval shape and put the sink drain/ water inlet in the spot with a very pronounced curve, so there is nothing to mount the sink on! I weep.

[kannot]

that's normal here . . when our electrician was finished connecting the electricity of a new house to the existing one, we found out the day later that our tin roof was hot ! Luckily it was not the rainy season or we would have been grilled to dead on our verandas.

Just make sure that work is done correctly, don't leave builders and construction people unattended. I always watched over the construction from the very beginning to the end, and had been able by thus correcting a few issues so far.

That only works if YOU know how it should be done. Most expats probably don't have a clue.

I always have to go around and redo most of the work they do. I only employ locals because it's not my house and I want someone to blame if it all turns to tears.

Nope it doesnt work even then, they get all arsey and say its the Thai way ( ie bone idle) the next day they dont show up. Been through many, yet to find a single good workman here in 2 years.

They come into your house and leave mess and crap everywhere, dont put down dust sheets, paw all over your walls and then give you a "hit me in the face" grin when you see the mess they have made!

Gee, have I just been lucky?

Dunno, maybe call the optician?

[kannot]

that's normal here . . when our electrician was finished connecting the electricity of a new house to the existing one, we found out the day later that our tin roof was hot ! Luckily it was not the rainy season or we would have been grilled to dead on our verandas.

Just make sure that work is done correctly, don't leave builders and construction people unattended. I always watched over the construction from the very beginning to the end, and had been able by thus correcting a few issues so far.

Anytime I have had to get someone in to do any work in my house, be it electrical, building, or plumbing. I have been pleased with their work, and a lot of the brickwork was done my females. and I've got to say they were good at it.

Where exactly are your "females"? and what work did they do to them?

Are you qualified to know what's good or bad practice? how about some photos of this work?

[thaipod]

The majority of the tradesmen here in Thailand have no training of but learn on site experience .They have learned to build from the experienced and tricks of the trade and often how to cut corners , there is no such thing as a apprenticeship where you need to work and study as many of you have had to do back home. The so called trained that come from the Tech schools have no idea what they are doing when they hit the job market.

I've been here and worked as a property manager for a while and renovated several properties and have come across only a few good trades men where I have not had to check their work , the majority of the time I've had to stand over them to get any quality outcome , most construction workers only have farming backgrounds and work seasonly and often the family is included as on site labor .

A lot of the larger companies like the car manufactures and Japanese companies etc, will give training and give good working / living conditions and salaries which make a great difference and incentive to give back to the company .

[h90]

Gosh, on so many threads, I see people suggesting a starting salary of 8,000-15,000 baht for hiring locals.

Then these threads show up lamenting the poor work they're getting from the locals they're hiring.

I'm starting to think it's not coincidence.

I didn't see any difference in quality between high and low paid electricians.

(Office staff is a different thing)

[bangkokstick]

Find an successful and smarter (than others) ESAN builder to manage the ESAN workers and everything will be fine.

Mostly incorrect that paying more brings better job.

Even homepro and homeworks hardly find qualified people to install that they sell in the shops...

[thaibeachlovers]

Find an successful and smarter (than others) ESAN builder to manage the ESAN workers and everything will be fine.

Mostly incorrect that paying more brings better job.

Even homepro and homeworks hardly find qualified people to install that they sell in the shops...

The "electrician" Global House sent to install my AC was pretty bad. I had to run a wire to a dedicated breaker ( that I took great care to show him on the consumer unit, so he knew I wanted it run to there ) myself, as he just spliced into the 10 amp loop with everything else on ( twist and tape ).

[bangkokstick]

The majority of the tradesmen here in Thailand have no training of but learn on site experience .They have learned to build from the experienced and tricks of the trade and often how to cut corners , there is no such thing as a apprenticeship where you need to work and study as many of you have had to do back home. The so called trained that come from the Tech schools have no idea what they are doing when they hit the job market.

I've been here and worked as a property manager for a while and renovated several properties and have come across only a few good trades men where I have not had to check their work , the majority of the time I've had to stand over them to get any quality outcome , most construction workers only have farming backgrounds and work seasonly and often the family is included as on site labor .

A lot of the larger companies like the car manufactures and Japanese companies etc, will give training and give good working / living conditions and salaries which make a great difference and incentive to give back to the company .

I always wonder about this.

How can Benz make cars here ?

All the people working must come from technical schools, and when we see what they do in our homes, it is a bit scaring !!!

Are the auto industry jobs so good that even Thai don't want to lose their job ?