Suggestion to upgrade vocational programmes

Thailand risks remaining in the middle-income trap for another decade or two due to its failure to upgrade its workforce to keep up with technological advancements, warns the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). Yongyuth Chalamwong, TDRI's advisor on human resource policy, notes that the World Bank has been urging Thailand for 15 years to shift from labor-intensive industries to more technology-driven sectors.

However, Thailand continues to rely heavily on low-cost migrant workers, even though it has a considerable domestic workforce and employs more than 4 million low-cost migrant workers. This is because migrant workers are significantly cheaper and easier to recruit than Thai workers.

A major issue is the emphasis on university education, with over 200 universities in Thailand producing graduates whose skills often do not match industry demands, leading to a significant opportunity cost of more than 10 billion baht annually. Thailand also heavily subsidizes higher education while providing limited support for vocational education.

For instance, China encourages about half of its students to enroll in polytechnic institutions, whereas Thai vocational education is often considered inferior to other forms of education.

Yongyuth suggests that Thailand should promote a workforce development model where industries sign memorandums of understanding with vocational schools to supply workers directly. This approach should be combined with a work-integrated learning approach, where students spend equal time studying and working in factories. This would ensure that the workforce development aligns with industry needs and addresses the rapid pace of technological change.

In the long run, workforce development should be more responsive to market demand, such as ensuring that every subdistrict has qualified technicians for emerging industries like electric vehicles and drones. Additionally, highly skilled workers who pursue advanced technology education overseas should be encouraged to return to Thailand by offering suitable employment opportunities, as Thailand's wages remain significantly lower than in countries like South Korea and China.