Private sector groups sign deal to produce personnel for auto parts sector



Bangkok, 2 February 2016 (NNT) - Private sector groups and the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology have signed on to produce highly-skilled laborers to push Thailand’s automotive parts industry to the global stage.

The Automotive Industry Club (AIC) and Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) have joined the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly research and develop new automotive parts as well as train under-graduate and graduate students to supply the automotive industry with highly-skilled personnel.

FTI Vice President Jane Namchaisiri, pointed out that Thailand has worked diligently to produce new innovations and technology for the automotive industry but has fallen short on producing personnel to handle the developments. He projects that in 5 years, the sector will require an average 12,000 highly-skilled workers a year.

Indicating that Thailand exported 500 million baht worth of auto parts last year and has maintained 5-6 percent growth in the segment for many years, Jane affirmed that it can become a center for automotive parts production. He reminded that major players such as Japan, Indonesia and the US have chosen Thai producers to supply their factories and that many major manufacturers of auto parts have chosen Thailand to base their operations.

-- NNT 2016-02-02

In the picture is that a Highly Skilled Thai worker with a nut wrench?

I thought that was why most production lines are computerised, so you can reduce the workforce, less need for skills, lower wage bill etc. If car production in Thailand is to increase then it must be with more computers running the production lines, not more skilled workers. Perhaps someone with experience in the motor industry can answer this question, "is the language of computers in the industry in English ?". If it is the Thais lack of English will be a problem.

Thailand has some serious competition (Automotive Parts Exports by Country - Daniel Workman, Nov. 25, 2015):

Below are the 15 suppliers that exported the highest dollar value worth of automotive parts during 2014:

1. Germany: US$60.2 billion (16.2% of total auto parts exports)
2. United States: $42.7 billion (11.5%)
3. Japan: $32.5 billion (8.8%)
4. China: $28.4 billion (7.7%)
5. South Korea: $24.3 billion (6.5%)
6. Mexico: $22.8 billion (6.1%)
7. France: $16.8 billion (4.5%)
8. Italy: $14.6 billion (3.9%)
9. Czech Republic: $13.2 billion (3.5%)
10. Canada: $10.8 billion (2.9%)
11. Spain: $10.7 billion (2.9%)
12. Poland: $10.5 billion (2.8%)
13. Thailand: $6.8 billion (1.8%)
14. United Kingdom: $6.5 billion (1.7%)
15. Belgium: $6 billion (1.7%)

Among the above suppliers, the fastest-growing automotive parts exporters since 2010 were: China (up 70.9%), Mexico (up 64.9%), Thailand (up 63.4%) and Czech Republic (up 54.5%).

Two suppliers posted declines in their exported automotive parts sales: Japan (down 7.3%) and France (down 1.2%).
The listed 15 countries shipped 82.6% of all automotive parts exports in 2014 (by value).

Obviously, with the inclusion of several industrialized developed countries cheap labor is not always a major factor!