The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry has launched the "Coding for Better Life" project to create a sustainable digital environment capable of supporting continuous coding skill development.
The project involves developing infrastructure for 1,500 schools nationwide to produce an average of 100,000 digital talents annually.
The initiative aims to benefit youth, teachers, educational personnel, parents and the public through a diverse range of courses and activities, said DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong.
According to Mr Prasert, Thailand requires around 100,000 digital employees annually, yet the education sector is only capable of producing around 25,000 such individuals with digital skills each year.
The ministry has outlined comprehensive short-term and long-term strategies to address the issue.
The short-term strategy involves the implementation of a global digital talent visa and introducing a unique stamping category for temporary residents who have exceptional digital abilities. The proposals are being considered by the cabinet.
Under the long-term plan, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa) will promote the development of digital knowledge and skills for all segments of the population.
He said the project focuses on improving related infrastructure to enhance the readiness for coding learning. The effort aims to generate a digital-ready workforce, addressing the persistent shortage of digital talents.
The move aligns with the crucial objective of enhancing the digital human capital, which is the third engine in the ministry's policy to propel the digital economy.
Depa announced its commitment to nurturing coding skills among youth in 2018.
For the fiscal year 2023-2024, Depa received urgent directives from the ministry to intensify efforts to continuously enhance coding skills.
This directive prompted its collaboration with a network of partners to develop the Coding for Better Life project and the development of a digital ecosystem ready to support the development of coding skills across four key dimensions.
The first involves developing coding infrastructure to provide opportunities for interested schools to participate in a collaborative development programme.
Emphasising the importance of public-private collaboration, Depa actively encourages the integration of efforts with the private sector to enhance coding classes.
Depa will provide specialised courses from a network of partners, comprising a range of 20 courses, along with learning and teaching equipment utilised in the curriculum, such as computers, laptops, tablets, and coding and robotics tools. The goal is to implement this plan in schools nationwide, covering 1,500 institutions.
The second dimension is coding coach incubation which will develop a coding curriculum and enhance teaching skills that involve the development of coding curriculums at basic, intermediate and advanced levels, encompassing over 20 courses.
The primary objective is to elevate the teaching skills of a minimum of 3,000 educators. This initiative is poised to enhance coding skills for no fewer than 300,000 students annually.
Third is the launch of a coding challenge to enhance coding skills. It is designed to foster learning beyond the traditional classroom by actively engaging teachers and students in an intensive coding skills enhancement programme.
The fourth dimension is to raise awareness about coding among the public, aiming to extend the knowledge and coding skills for practical use across diverse domains.