THAILAND has been staggering under the weight of a significant imbalance between labour demand and labour supply.

The country has thus seen both unemployment and labour shortages. Even worse is the fact that working people at all levels have lacked some core competencies. Such problems have already taken their toll on Thailand’s competitiveness, dropping the nation to the sixth spot in the 10-nation Asean region.

Recognising these problems, the Office of the Education Council (OEC) decided to hire the Thailand Research Development Institute (TDRI) to gather relevant information for players in the economic and educational sectors to address the issue and synchronise their plans.

“We are aware that the problems stem partly from the fact that educational institutes have put their needs above the labour market’s needs when providing educational services,” OEC secretary general Kamol Rodklai said at a recent seminar.

Organised by the OEC and the TDRI, the seminar focused on the need to review Thailand’s labour sector and to better plan the country’s production and human resource development.

Assoc Prof Dr Yongyuth Chalamwong, TDRI’s research director for labour development, said although Thailand ranked fourth in Asean in terms of productivity, it should be noted hat Thailand’s productivity was almost half of Malaysia.

He also noted that Thai labour skills remained low, along with the quality of Thai education. When these problems were coupled with relatively high minimum daily wages, Thailand’s ability to attract foreign direct investment has begun to feel the pinch.

“We have also found that government policies dominate Thailand’s development policies. As a result, the direction of development has changed often,” he said.

National Economic and Social Development Board’s deputy secretary general Thanin Paem said Thailand’s economic performance would have been better had it had policy consistency.

“During the eight-year term of the General Prem Tinsulanonda, the country’s economy grew by more than five per cent,” he said. “This reflects that if we have consistency, we will be able to sustain our economic growth”.

Thavorn Chalassathien from the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said national policy makers should also look at labour issues from a new perspective. He did not agree with the policy of paying employees or workers based on their educational level.

The previous administration launched a policy to ensure that holders of bachelor degrees working for the public sector earned no less than

Bt15,000 a month. This policy has affected pay rate in the private sector too. In addition, it affected not just those holding bachelor degrees but all the labour market.

“I think people should be paid based on their competency and performance,” Thavorn said.

He also emphasised the need to produce an adequate number of vocational graduates for various industries, and suggested that educational institutes produce fewer university graduates.

“To be truthful, only 11 per cent of available job positions in the market require a bachelor’s degree,” he said.

He said the vocational-education sector also needed to be overhauled to respond better to the country’s industrial sector. For example, teachers should focus more on equipping their students with the skills that would prove practical in a real work environment.

“On this part, the private sector must step in and help,” he said, which is the reason that several companies have decided to join hands with vocational colleges and conduct dual-education programmes.

Recognising Thailand’s need to boost its competitiveness, Thavorn said between 2017 and 2022, the vocational-education sector must put strong emphasis on high-vocational courses, so that graduates have more skills.

In his eyes, it is necessary to encourage Thais to understand that they should love their jobs and develop a passion for what they do. “If you keep switching to new jobs, you won’t get any expertise,” he said.

Attakarn Traissanarangsee of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, noted that the education sector must keep pace with new trends, understand the new environment, and prepare human resources accordingly.

“Look at what the country needs and answer to those needs. For example, if e-commerce is now a raging trend, provide human resources to facilitate e-commerce,” he said. “In addition, the country’s educational sector should make sure Thais can compete well on the international stage too”.

Thanin lamented that Thai labour skills were no better than less-developed nations like Laos and Myanmar. He also complained that Thai students had apparently performed poorly in science and English.

As of 2010, Thais’ average educational years stood at just seven years while Singaporeans’ and Malaysians’ average educational years were over 10 years. Laotians and Myanmar people’s average educational years, meanwhile, totalled fewer than five.