AEC will change the labour landscape

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EDITORIAL
AEC will change the labour landscape
The Nation

Demand for skilled manual workers is bound to escalate steeply with regional integration, yet vocational schools struggle

BANGKOK: -- Anyone capable of changing a light bulb can be a "hero" at home. To maintain that status around the neighbourhood, you might have to be a good carpenter as well. Beyond your community perhaps you'll need to know a bit about design. The broader the environs, the better the skills required to be competitive - or simply to survive.

Now that the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is a reality, Thailand will need more "heroes". Respective governments have recognised the urgency of creating a more-skilled workforce to cope with demand that was bound to swell with regional integration. Immigrant labour is certain to challenge the workforce we have and, by the same token, our qualified graduates will be needed elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Thus, homeland "heroes" can also do well in neighbouring countries.

In Thailand, demand for skilled labour is surging amid distressingly low enrolment at vocational schools. It's been estimated that, by next year, 190,000 skilled workers will be needed in 14 Thai industries. That need is already critical in several specific industries, including petrochemicals, fuel exploration and construction. In one example, the Office of the Vocational Education Commission reckons that schools produce just 20,000 welders each year, whereas more than 300,000 are currently needed.

The shortage of skilled labour in Thailand is expected to intensify with the advent of the AEC, and meanwhile Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar face the same problem. Vietnam's booming construction industry long ago outstripped its supply of vocational-school graduates, and development in Myanmar is constantly picking up pace.

No nation wants to be left behind as the regional economy blossoms. All 10 member-countries are testing methods to boost competitiveness, but most are stymied by an inadequate workforce. The bitter fact is that vocational studies remain far less popular among youth than general education, due to the perception that salaries are much lower and there is little chance for career advancement. Whatever truth might lie behind these notions, it is a fact that skilled, qualified labourers can earn much more than graduates with bachelor's degrees.

The Yingluck Shinawatra administration had the foresight to change the structure, allowing vocational students to pursue a general education certificate at the same time through a dual-studies concept. More such efforts are continuing to cultivate young people's interest in vocational education. The current goal is to have 51 per cent of students in general education and 49 per cent in vocational schools, the latter figure up from a mere 30 per cent between 2009 and 2011. Having just a third of students learning sorely needed manual skills indicates why supply lags so far behind demand in the job market.

Laos and Vietnam are following South Korea's example in granting full scholarships to young people enrolling in construction and machinery courses at vocational colleges. Thailand's Vocational Education Commission is seeking a Bt29-billion budget to enhance vocational graduates' skills through the dual-studies approach, with an eye to keeping Thai workers competitive in the AEC era.

Apart from individual efforts, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand are this year introducing joint vocational studies. Graduates will be assured of work in one or all of the three countries. Although the pilot project will have just 25 students, the initiative strikes us as a good long-term solution. These countries have much in common socially and economically and are all likely destinations - and launching pads - for migrant labour. As well, the graduates will share standardised skills and be better able to directly serve demand for industries in need.

It will be some time yet before the member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations truly begin to feel the impact of the AEC in terms of labour migration, but already the promise of vast opportunity is exposing weaknesses that must be addressed now. The countries wishing to stay competitive will have to adjust quickly. We have witnessed the advent of good ideas coinciding with the birth of the AEC, but a great deal of concrete action will be essential in the long term if every country is to maintain its supply of "heroes".

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/AEC-will-change-the-labour-landscape-30276184.html


-- The Nation 2016-01-06

[lostinisaan]

Whatever truth might lie behind these notions, it is a fact that unskilled, unqualified labourers can earn much less than graduates with bachelor's degrees who work at 7 Eleven stores.

[Sydebolle]

Don't forget Thailand's money minting industry - tourism and hospitality.

The shortage of trainable staff in hotels, hospitality and tourism, i.e. everywhere where there is an interface need to a non-Thai speaking person, is frightening.

The need of basic educated willing people with a working command of English is much more than the welders and carpenters - me thinks!

[chainarong]

Thailand needs to introduce TAFE type schools where trades and further education can be achieved , trades , hospitality , computer , languages etc are covered, the biggest problem for Thailand is realizing that education is substandard , their teachers are substandard, their tradesmen are substandard , if you choose the Western comparison........................................... ..