With eight years' experience working as an electrician in the Middle East under his belt, Bunjong Chudpimai started a personnel recruitment agency that also operates as an authorised work skills testing centre in Pathum Thani after he returned to Thailand in 1989.
Speaking as head of the foreign affairs section of KTC Skills Testing Centre, Mr Bunjong said the centre has been supporting highly skilled Thai workers to get properly certified by the Ministry of Labour, their passport to finding a well-paying job overseas.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, this recruitment and skills testing agency supplied an average of 1,000 Thai skilled workers a year to employers in other countries, he said.
Workers made at least 40,000 baht a month working abroad, he said.
Apart from their skills, Thai workers' courtesy to their employers makes them popular with employers overseas, he said. The only limitation that still holds them back in the global labour market is their English skills.
Thai welders in particular have been in high demand and that has also brought about overseas job opportunities for Thai skilled workers in related fields of work, he said.
More overseas employers have been requesting Thai workers in related fields because they are satisfied with their work, he said.
"I'd like those intending to work abroad to be patient while training and sharpening their work skills.
"Good job opportunities will come their way [when they are qualified]," said Narong Phukfak, 33, a native of Tak who returned recently from Singapore where he earned 80,000 baht a month.
Starting out at the age of only 16, he came to Bangkok to train as a certified welder. Now Mr Narong has more than 15 years' experience working in several countries including the Middle East.
"I dedicated my teenage years to training in welding and gaining work experience and it's worth it," he said. "I was so proud of myself when I was able to repay my family's 300,000 baht debt with my earnings from my first overseas work contract alone."
A Thai worker shows off his welding skills at KTC Skills Testing Centre during a visit by a representative from Saudi Arabia's Princess Joy Placement and General Service. Penchan Charoensuthipan
New labour cooperation arrangements between Thailand and Saudi Arabia that follow their decision recently to repair diplomatic ties is seen as a major opportunity for many skilled Thai workers looking for overseas jobs.
The minimum monthly wage offered to Thais in Saudi Arabia is more than 10,000 baht higher than in Thailand, not to mention free three meals a day, a transfer service between the apartment to work and a return air ticket, said Mr Bunjong. "That's why job opportunities in Saudi Arabia appear so attractive to Thai workers," he said.
Saudi Arabia has many development projects in the pipeline, which means more job opportunities to come for skilled Thai workers, he said.
The improved relations with Saudi Arabia have caused great excitement among Thai workers and job recruitment agencies.
At least five recruitment companies in Saudi Arabia have assigned Hussein Ayed Al Awad, president of the Princess Joy Placement and General Service, to visit KTC in Pathum Thani, as part of their preparations for getting more skilled Thai workers to Saudi Arabia, said Prateep Songlamyong, director-general of Department of Skill Development.
During his visit, Mr Hussein said Saudia Arabia is looking for more welders, underwater welders, automotive paint technicians and medical staff, said Mr Prateep.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the new Thai-Saudi Arabian labour cooperation arrangement, in which Thailand has agreed in principle to supply more skilled workers to Saudi Arabia, is being drafted by Department of Employment and Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs, said Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin.
When both sides have agreed on the draft MoU, cabinet will approve the details before the pact is formally implemented in a government-to-government format, he said.
This doesn't necessarily mean private job recruitment agencies will be excluded, he said, responding to concerns raised by some private recruitment agencies.
The state-to-state format was adopted possibly because of concerns raised over the recruitment standards of some private agencies and the fees they charge, said Aranya Sakulkosol, chairwoman of Thai Overseas Manpower Association.
The association has called on the ministry for an opportunity for private recruitment agencies to participate.