Thailand's first technical vocational hub opens in Chiang Mai

[webfact]

Country’s first technical vocational hub opens
By Thanapat Thongpaiwan

The Nation

 

CHIANG MAI: -- THE COUNTRY’S first technical vocational education and training (TVET) hub is up and running in the northern province of Chiang Mai with the aim to produce a workforce that meets the requirements of various industries especially in the automotive, food and agricultural technology, and electronics sectors.

The newly opened TVET hub was launched by Chevron (Thailand), the Kenan Institute Asia and the Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna (RMUTL). 

The centre is part of the “Chevron Enjoy Science” campaign, following the success of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) hubs.

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30297986

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-10-20

 

[oldcarguy]

Great idea , they need to do this at a few more places , 

Will they have Textbooks in Thai  , if so I hope they share them with other students across the country , 

 

I am sure there are 1000s of Thai students that are interested in computers , robotics , technology but will have no way to learn it without information on the internet and YouTube , no schools near them and they cannot afford to live away from home .

Plus they cannot understand English  ( or German, Japanese etc) which most of the information is printed.

And this goes for many other countries too , 

 

I hope it works 

[yellowboat]

Hmmmm.....   Could the country review its draconian laws regarding the use of radio spectrum to reflect freedoms that of at least enjoyed China ?  One cannot learn if one cannot experiment.    It may come in handy when working on self driving cars and everything else mentioned. 

[chickenrunCM]

 vocational teacher Jakkarin Intrasri, 26, said: “Students will experience how to work in actual workstations, and they will be trained to think and solve problems.”

 

realy? you can´t train students to think and solve problems, if they didn´t learn it in preschool age 2 to 6, after this impossible. So now the Thai kids starting ask questions, work independant, think logically? So not everybody will pass the class?

I don´t know where they want to get this students from, for sure not from a vacational college! 

To educate students in colleges you have first to educate them in school, and before this you have to educate them in preschool.

don´t start at the end ....

[oldcarguy]

Smart kids are interested in learning , you need to make it  fun to learn 

 

The big Unis in the world are putting classes on the internet for all to learn ,  

 

The same thing needs to be done but for technical things ,  It would be great to have 1000s of young people worldwide  who could program CNC machines ,  Robots etc ,

Right now there is a decent business of sending  photos , drawings etc to India for processing and when you get to work in the morning  the image has been sent back ready to use for $10 or so

 

And it will just get bigger with CNC files needed and maybe even a batch of small parts machined and Fed Ex shipped to you  overnight from across the world , 

 

I am sure this will happen , hopefully Thailand can get in on it ,  

 

 

 

 

[pentae]

I run a startup with 10-20 employees in Chiang Mai. The gov is making a lot of noise about Startups and innovation but the problem is there's simply not enough skilled university graduates. Anyone who has attempted to post a job looking for thai people with even basic web development skills have a better chance at finding a snowball in hell. Because of this, most of my staff are foreigners (We had to set up a BOI company which allows this). They do require us to bring in thai staff to train but most barely know how to use a computer or speak english after completing university.

 

On the other hand, there is a huge amount of talented foreigners in the country that are software engineers, digital nomads and so on. So far the Ministry has made absolutely no attempt to take advantage of this foreign resource inside the country and cross pollinate talent between foreigners and thais. After reaching out to them none of the programs are available unless you are a thai citizen, all the startup programs are 100% in thai and not in English. They simply aren't interested in talking to you unless you are thai. This is the wrong attitude. 

 

Most countries are doing everything they can to attract highly skilled foreign talent, Thailand already has them here but they aren't smart enough or don't show any interest in taking advantage of that. Stupid.

 

Last time I checked computer coding was done in English, so why are all these startup programs in Thai with people who can barely speak/read/write English?

 

There are also no attempts that i've seen particularly in the north to train thai computer science graduates skills that are relevant in the real world. Unless they address education and bring foreigners into the program (on any capacity, even teachers) then it's a missed opportunity.

 

I wish them luck but they have already doomed themselves for failure.

 

 

Edited November 23, 2016 by pentae

[JomtienEats]

I agree with your every word Pentae. Thailand could have a startup hub if they knew how to marshal their resources, but they don't even know what their resources are.

 

http://www.paulgraham.com/hubs.html

 

Quote

For Larry Page the most important component of the antidote was Sergey Brin, and vice versa. The antidote is people. It's not the physical infrastructure of Silicon Valley that makes it work, or the weather, or anything like that. Those helped get it started, but now that the reaction is self-sustaining what drives it is the people.

 

http://www.paulgraham.com/pgh.html

Quote

So being a magnet for people in their twenties is a very promising thing to be. It's hard to imagine a place becoming a startup hub without also being that. When I read that statistic about the increasing percentage of 25 to 29 year olds, I had exactly the same feeling of excitement I get when I see a startup's graphs start to creep upward off the x axis.

 

Quote

So although an influx of latte-swilling hipsters may be annoying in some ways, I would go out of my way to encourage them. And more generally to tolerate strangeness, even unto the degree wacko Californians do.

 

Quote

The prime mover, as the Times article said, is cheap housing. That's a big advantage. But that phrase "cheap housing" is a bit misleading. There are plenty of places that are cheaper. What's special about Pittsburgh is not that it's cheap, but that it's a cheap place you'd actually want to live.

 

[Bullie]

On 11/23/2016 at 4:08 PM, pentae said:

I run a startup with 10-20 employees in Chiang Mai. The gov is making a lot of noise about Startups and innovation but the problem is there's simply not enough skilled university graduates. Anyone who has attempted to post a job looking for thai people with even basic web development skills have a better chance at finding a snowball in hell. Because of this, most of my staff are foreigners (We had to set up a BOI company which allows this). They do require us to bring in thai staff to train but most barely know how to use a computer or speak english after completing university.

 

On the other hand, there is a huge amount of talented foreigners in the country that are software engineers, digital nomads and so on. So far the Ministry has made absolutely no attempt to take advantage of this foreign resource inside the country and cross pollinate talent between foreigners and thais. After reaching out to them none of the programs are available unless you are a thai citizen, all the startup programs are 100% in thai and not in English. They simply aren't interested in talking to you unless you are thai. This is the wrong attitude. 

 

Most countries are doing everything they can to attract highly skilled foreign talent, Thailand already has them here but they aren't smart enough or don't show any interest in taking advantage of that. Stupid.

 

Last time I checked computer coding was done in English, so why are all these startup programs in Thai with people who can barely speak/read/write English?

 

There are also no attempts that i've seen particularly in the north to train thai computer science graduates skills that are relevant in the real world. Unless they address education and bring foreigners into the program (on any capacity, even teachers) then it's a missed opportunity.

 

I wish them luck but they have already doomed themselves for failure.

 

 

Wrong attitude, stupid, doomed for failure..... It is highly presumptuous to assume that the "people in charge" in Thailand are not aware of the probable results of their (non)actions. I would rather think that it a position deliberately taken to preserve the status quo and the fullest measure of "thainess" possible. Openness to the world trough  proper education  and a working knowledge of the english language might very well result in unwanted change.

[55Jay]

I like vocational training for those not inclined to attend Uni but even for them during Uni or after, it can be useful to develop hands on skills, or at least get some exposure.   In my country, where I went to school, it's called R.O.P. - regional occupation program.  I attended two courses, which began after normal school hours.

[pentae]

On 11/26/2016 at 7:52 AM, Bullie said:

Wrong attitude, stupid, doomed for failure..... It is highly presumptuous to assume that the "people in charge" in Thailand are not aware of the probable results of their (non)actions. I would rather think that it a position deliberately taken to preserve the status quo and the fullest measure of "thainess" possible. Openness to the world trough  proper education  and a working knowledge of the english language might very well result in unwanted change.

 

 

 

 

Yeah, they’ll certianly get the fullest measure of “thainess” possible. Lot’s of money wasted and failure as foreign companies like lazada, grab taxi and foodpanda swooping in and stealing the market. Genius.

 

 

 

 

[Bullie]

13 hours ago, pentae said:

 

 

 

 

Yeah, they’ll certianly get the fullest measure of “thainess” possible. Lot’s of money wasted and failure as foreign companies like lazada, grab taxi and foodpanda swooping in and stealing the market. Genius.

 

 

 

 

The money is never wasted. It goes to the people that rightly deserve it, who work so hard to keep Thailand for the Thai.

As far as foreign companies are concerned: as long as the right pockets are lines, nobody in power cares. Especially since they can change the situation in a heartbeat.

[LolaS]

On 11/23/2016 at 4:08 PM, pentae said:

I run a startup with 10-20 employees in Chiang Mai. The gov is making a lot of noise about Startups and innovation but the problem is there's simply not enough skilled university graduates. Anyone who has attempted to post a job looking for thai people with even basic web development skills have a better chance at finding a snowball in hell. Because of this, most of my staff are foreigners (We had to set up a BOI company which allows this). They do require us to bring in thai staff to train but most barely know how to use a computer or speak english after completing university.

 

On the other hand, there is a huge amount of talented foreigners in the country that are software engineers, digital nomads and so on. So far the Ministry has made absolutely no attempt to take advantage of this foreign resource inside the country and cross pollinate talent between foreigners and thais. After reaching out to them none of the programs are available unless you are a thai citizen, all the startup programs are 100% in thai and not in English. They simply aren't interested in talking to you unless you are thai. This is the wrong attitude. 

 

Most countries are doing everything they can to attract highly skilled foreign talent, Thailand already has them here but they aren't smart enough or don't show any interest in taking advantage of that. Stupid.

 

Last time I checked computer coding was done in English, so why are all these startup programs in Thai with people who can barely speak/read/write English?

 

There are also no attempts that i've seen particularly in the north to train thai computer science graduates skills that are relevant in the real world. Unless they address education and bring foreigners into the program (on any capacity, even teachers) then it's a missed opportunity.

 

I wish them luck but they have already doomed themselves for failure.

 

 

14

this is so so so true. 

I agree with everything, and i will copy and paste forward your observations.

However, I cannot understand "all the startup programs are 100% in thai and not in English. They simply aren't interested in talking to you unless you are thai. This is the wrong attitude. "

Like yeah, you are in thailand, of course everything is in thai, but all information are under 1997 Info act available by demand on english.