The Labour Ministry is planning to open one-stop work placement service centres in all regions nationwide with an ambitious target to find jobs for about 170,000 unemployed fresh university graduates.
Speaking after chairing a meeting on Monday of a committee, tasked with finding a solution to the high unemployment rate among fresh university graduates, Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeo said 11 centres will be opened on July 1 in major provinces such as Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Rayong, Chon Buri, Surat Thani, Songkhla and Bangkok.
The centres will be responsible for compiling data of the unemployed graduates and job vacancies in their areas, guiding aspirants to find jobs and organising skills training programme designed to get jobs quickly for fresh graduates, he said.
The ministry aims to find jobs for at least 100,000 out of the 170,000 unemployed graduates in three months after the centres are launched, he said. And in the long term, the ministry will work together with the Education Ministry and universities to overhaul the curriculum offered at universities that can produce graduates with qualifications which fit the demand in the labour market, he said.
Private companies will also be encouraged to take part in the effort to curb unemployment rates among future graduates by working together with universities in providing more practical internship and apprenticeship programmes, he said.
Out of about 340,000 university students who graduated last year, 110,000 have degrees in science while the rest studied social science programmes, he said, adding that the vast majority of the unemployed were in the social science category.
The reasons they remain unemployed range from their qualifications not matching the demand in the labour market to their habit of changing jobs frequently, said Pol Gen Adul.
Governors of the provinces, where one-stop centres are to be opened, will serve as directors, he said.
Thavorn Chalassathien, vice president of Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), which is part of the government's committee, said that the government could not act alone and be successful in tackling the challenging issue.
The problem requires cooperation from all sides, including the Labour Ministry, the FTI and educational institutions, he said.
The top priority of all business operators is to make profits and they won't risk their businesses on those new employees who are fresh out of university and who may take time to learn the work, he said.
Tanit Sorat, vice chairman of the national labour development advisory council that is also part of the committee, blamed the current unemployment situation on the old structure of the country's education system.
Students with degrees in social sciences account for almost 70% of all university graduates each year, but they are not wanted in the labour market, he said.
Those who graduate with degrees in science and technology account for only 4%, which is far from being sufficient to meet the demand, he said.