As Thailand is moving towards an innovation-driven economy, demands for highly skilled manpower in target industries are increasing. In addition, requirements for knowledge and skills for future industries are becoming more complex. To ensure that Thailand can foster its high-skilled human capital to develop and sustain the new growth engines, NXPO is actively working on two important plans – i) To conduct a survey to identify needs and strategic plans for human resource development for target industries and ii) To establish a Registered Training Organization (RTO) system and highly-skilled employment verification system to support the implementation of Thailand Plus Package.
Survey on High-skilled Manpower Demands in Target Industries
To understand demands for a highly skilled workforce in target industries, NXPO launched a survey on high-skilled workforce demands in the emerging industries. The results of this survey are useful in constructing a manpower development strategy for target industries and in designing appropriate degree and non-degree programs and curriculum for universities to develop the workforce with knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of these industries.
The first survey was conducted in 2019 on the five new S-curve industries – Biofuels & Biochemicals, Digital Industry, Aviation & Logistics, Wellness & Medical Devices, and Automation & Robotics. The study, involving participation by 250 companies, revealed that well-trained, high-skilled talents are in demand to fulfill 107,045 new jobs in these five industries in the next five years (2020-2024). These new jobs are comprised of 9,836 jobs in Biofuels & Biochemicals, 34,505 jobs in Digital Industry, 29,735 jobs in Aviation & Logistics, 20,153 jobs in Wellness & Medical Devices, and 12,816 jobs in Automation & Robotics. Jobs in high demand include aircraft pilot, aircraft maintenance engineer, data scientist, full stack developer, robotic control engineer, mechanical engineer, and chemist and biologist. More surveys will be conducted in order to gain a fuller picture of job markets in emerging industries. The next phase of the study will focus on the following industries: Modern Transport, Smart Electronics, High-quality and Wellness Tourism, Agriculture & Biotechnology, Food Processing, Defense Industry and Education and Training.
Registered Training Organization (RTO) System and High-Skilled Employment Verification System
In 2019, the Thai Government launched a new investment promotional package called Thailand Plus Package aimed at attracting more foreign investment. The package covers comprehensive measures, namely investment acceleration incentives, fiscal measures supporting high-skilled manpower development, de-regulation, and improved pre- and post- investment services.
The fiscal measures supporting high-skilled manpower development include special deduction of i) training expenses on advanced technology in order to expedite reskilling and upskilling of the workforce and ii) expenses spent on hiring new high-skilled manpower in fields of science and technology. In order to fully implement these measures, NXPO has designed systems to enable the government to verify the training and employment expenses concerning a highly skilled workforce. The work includes identification of Future Skills Set qualified for deduction, establishment of Registered Training Organization (RTO) System to accredit organizations that can provide training in the fields specified in the announced Future Skills Set, and creation of high-skilled employment verification system to certify expenses claimed for tax incentives by companies.
