LABOUR MARKET
Thai workers need to upgrade skills
By The Nation
2011-06-10
Thailand will face an oversupply crisis in the midlevel labour market if workers do not improve their skills to compete with their counterparts in Vietnam and the Philippines, a Bangkok seminar on vocational study was told yesterday.
Migration of labour within Asean countries will begin in the next four years and career training and selfdevelopment are needed now for Thai workers to be competitive in time, said Associate Professor Somphong Jitradab, a senior official with the Quality Learning Foundation.
Filipino workers are wanted in the service sector elsewhere because of their English skills, while the Vietnamese are hardworking and patient, he said.
Workers from both countries are expected to resume study in vocational fields to enhance their skills.
"By that time, they will possess greater ranges of skills and obtain greater job opportunities. And if Thailand is not ready, they will take a large portion of employment in the middlelevel labour market or the service sector."
He said vocational classes in Thailand should be made available at the seventh grade, otherwise it would not be possible to fully educate enough skilful graduates in time.
There are 400,000 graduates withdegrees and only 100,000 of them get jobs, while those with vocational degrees graduate in much smaller numbers, but 90 per cent of them find jobs, he said.
Weerawat Wannasiri, head of the Federation of Private Vocational Schools of Thailand, proposed making the Kingdom a regional hub for vocational education, with a large number of government schools and 66 private ones already available.
Few languages are not widely taught in government and private vocational schools.
"Skills alone are not the crucial factor in making Thai workers superior to Singaporeans or Malaysians - we need to improve the Thai workers' English," he added.
Weerawat said the establishment of the Asean Vocational College was underway to accommodate the Asean Economic Community in 2015, which will make travel and employment among member countries easier, with higher salaries and better incentives.
Natcha Thiamphithak, director of Panyapiwat Techno Business School, which trains staff for 7Eleven outlets and provides business courses under contract, said the outlets accommodated 10,000 positions, mostly filled by overqualified staff with undergraduate degrees.
The renowned Saowabha Vocational College said it was ready to begin teaching various modern subjects other than cookery and artistry, which have been its core subjects since its establishment in 1901.
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