THAI students will need to equip themselves with global knowledge, communication skills, critical thinking and discipline to tackle challenges in the future, representatives from various industries suggested at a recent seminar.
Microsoft Thailand public sector director Somsak Mukdavannakorn said the most needed skill for people to excel was communication.
“At Microsoft, we have the CAC framework [Communication, Analytics and Collaboration]. We are approaching the era where you can work and learn regardless of place and time. Therefore, these soft skills really matter,” he said at the seminar “Catalyst for Thai success: the power of global knowledge & innovation”.
The event was hosted by Stamford International University.
Nattapote Kuslasayanon, adviser to the general manager of True Voice Company, which provides a speech recognition service called Mali, said Thai workers excelled in terms of technical skills.
“However, most Thais prefer to focus only on their own working area. They don’t see things in a broader view,” he said.
Engineer graduate-turned entrepreneur, Rawit Hanutsaha, managing director of Srichand United Dispensary, urged universities to adjust their teaching approach and learning environment to prepare students to be ready for the dynamic pace of change in the global environment.
“By the time that you graduate, what you learnt in classes would already be obsolete. The curriculum taught in Thai-style schools must be revamped. What is taught in school is like us giving the kids tonnes of unneeded fish, not the equipment that would groom them to be able to catch the fish by themselves,” he said.
Educated overseas from a young age, Peerapol Sa-ngamuang, head of marketing at the e-commerce rising star Zalora Thailand, added that in the future, companies will need people who are capable of improving their self-learning skills and able to share critical thoughts and viewpoints.
“Most Thais don’t dare to speak up. But I would like to tell you that it doesn’t matter how great your idea is as long as you cannot articulate it,” he said.
To respond to the needs of industry, Stamford International University has launched its Asoke Campus Learning Centre offering working adults flexible international and Thai MBA programmes.
“We see a real need in Thailand for programmes that will help working adults meet their personal and professional goals and we wanted to ensure flexibility and greater accessibility. As part of the Laureate International Universities network, which is present in 28 countries serving over 1 million students, we are able to draw from the experience and expertise of some ofthe most estab
lished names in working adult education, including Liverpool University (Online) and Walden University,” Gilles Mahe, CEO of Laureate Thailand, said.
“We believe that as our graduates meet the expectations of industry, they will be highly employable and make a visible difference in their respective organisations. This will in turn help propel Thailand as one of the leading AEC economies.”
Apart from global knowledge, communication and critical thinking skills, industry experts urged universities to play a more important role in igniting inspiration and passion for students.
“Some graduates wonder that even if they have all 4 ‘p’s covered – product, price, place, promotion – they are still unsuccessful in their businesses. That’s because they forget the final ‘p’: passion. That’s the challenge for universities to help students find their passion as early as possible,” said Dr Ake Choonhachatrachai, general manager of Stamford’s Asoke Campus Learning Centre.
Last but not least, industry experts agreed that Thai students are likely to struggle to be successful in their career if they retain a “chill out” style.
“In the next five years, we could fall behind because we don’t have discipline. We access social media and use smart phones for pleasure, regardless of place and time. At my company, phones are not allowed in the meeting room. Firms that allow employees to access certain social media websites during working hours would harm their productivity,” said Srichand United’s Rawit.
True Voice’s Nattapote concurred that ultimately |discipline is the key to success. “Discipline must be built and it takes time to do so. In the future, where anyone |could learn and work anywhere, how can the Thai (workers) be competitive if we don’t have discipline Companies have choices as technology steps in to replace some human jobs while hiring foreigners may be better in certain cases.”
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