Thailand needs to accelerate educational development immediately to align with the requirements of trade and investment as the educational system is perceived as insufficient in addressing the dynamic demands of rapidly evolving industries.
According to Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), the current landscape of trade and investment, which is constantly evolving, and the rapid growth in technology development have prompted the workforce to rely on skills and thinking processes that respond to the labour market.
The trade and investment sectors have also reiterated their calls for improvements to the education system to enable the nation to produce a workforce that can fully meet the diverse demands of each sector, while some other perspectives argue that the workforce is still insufficient in certain industries, he said.
Mr Poonpong said a survey of labour needs in investment-promoted projects by the Board of Investment in 2022 found a shortage of skilled labour, particularly in the machinery and automotive industries, as well as the electrical and electronics industry, accounting for up to 12,000 positions.
Although Thailand's competitiveness ranking for 2023 indicated an improvement in the long-term labour force growth rate, he said there is a noted risk that the country may face challenges in terms of skilled labour, especially in the service sector.
Additionally, there are concerns that competition from other countries in attracting investment is accelerating the development of their workforce in quantity and quality. This could make it more difficult for Thailand to attract foreign investment in the future, posing a challenge to competitiveness, said Mr Poonpong.
"Looking back at the quality of education in Thailand, which serves as the foundation for workforce development, an assessment of students' competencies in the Programme for International Student Assessment [Pisa] conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2023 reveals that Thai students' scores are consistently lower in all categories, including mathematics, science, and reading. When specifically comparing them within the Asean region, Thailand's scores are also lower than those of Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. Furthermore, there is a continuous downward trend," said Mr Poonpong.
"Analysing the issues within the Thai education system reveals a significant characteristic: the production of a workforce that does not align with or adequately meet the demands of the market. This arises from a value system that places greater importance on pursuing education in conventional formal paths rather than vocational ones."
Coupled with the negative perception of vocational education, according to Mr Poonpong, there is a reduction in the demand for vocational education, leading to a significant shortage of skilled labour. This shortage hampers the country's ability to accommodate the expanding foreign investment and poses a risk of future labour shortages in certain sectors. Additionally, there is a deficiency in elevating the education workforce to have increased knowledge and understanding of technology in teaching.
A study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) found that only 51% of teachers in Thailand use ICT equipment in their classrooms. This percentage is lower compared to South Korea (76%), Hong Kong (79%) and Australia (90%).
"Education is considered a crucial foundation for the development of a country because it represents an investment in human resources in the long term. Additionally, its development requires a reasonable amount of time and cannot be created or transformed quickly. Therefore, there is a need to expedite educational development starting to meet the needs of the country's industries through approaches such as surveying requirements to determine the varying needs in each field; increasing learning activities and practical experience outside the classroom, allowing learners to acquire knowledge from real-world experiences; developing educational personnel to effectively transfer new skills; enhancing the integration of related organisations, including the Education Ministry, the Labor Ministry, the Industry Ministry, and other relevant agencies in the development process."
More importantly, he said educational institutions at both university and vocational levels must have curricula to cultivate skills that align with the requirements of the digital economy or smart labour.