The Office of the Vocational Education Commission (Ovec) will this month sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the London-based education company Pearson, to implement BTEC programmes -- a vocational curriculum used in the UK -- for Thai students to feed demand for high-skilled workers in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said the main goal of the partnership is to upgrade vocational education in Thailand to an international standard through career-focused qualifications.
Dr Teerakiat said the pilot programme will launch in four vocational colleges and universities, with the aspiration to expand coverage across the country over time.
"Initially, there will be four colleges: Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep will provide aircraft maintenance courses. King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Lat Krabang and Khon Kaen Vocational Education College will teach hospitality management while Chitralada Technology College will teach electronics," he said.
However, in the next phases, BTEC programmes will reflect the top 10 industry sectors as outlined in the EEC plan -- including automotive, aerospace, digital industry, healthcare and robotics -- in a bid to develop the three eastern provinces of Thailand into an Asean economic zone.
All BTEC courses will use the same vocational qualifications as in the UK and will be taught in English and Thai. People over 18 are eligible to enrol.
Pearson will also provide an intensive five-day training programme for 1,000 Thai vocational teachers selected by Ovec to modernise their teaching methods. After completing the programme, these 1,000 teachers will be called "master trainers" and will use what they learn to teach students and train other teachers in their colleges.
Suphan Mongkolsuthee, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said the MoU with Pearson will help develop standards for vocational courses to support Thailand's 4.0 vision. It also represents a mutual intention to equip students with the skills required by 10 targeted industries.
"Thailand has a skilled labour shortage because educational institutions cannot produce workers that are needed by the labour market, so it's good news that we will have an expert organisation like Pearson to help us upgrade the standard of vocational education," he said.
Kalin Sarasin, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said he backed the agreement. "We need to produce more people for the workforce in the field of robotics and AI and I think this agreement would help improve the situation," he said.
A Labour Ministry survey found 2,178 entrepreneurs in the EEC said they are facing a shortage of as many as 30,000 qualified technical and vocational workers.
The industries that require skilled labour the most are electronics, food processing, rubber, plastic, logistics, and hotels.