THE NATION THAILAND – To remain competitive in the global economy, the country must adapt to fast-changing technology and invest in upskilling workers, the global staffing firm added.
Thailand’s workforce is forecast to grow by around 0.6 per cent annually over the next five years, reaching 40 million by 2026, said ManpowerGroup Regional Manager for Southeast Asia Simon Matthews.
Pressure on the Thai labour market will come from increasing use of digital technologies and automation, which will have a major impact on many industries. This will bring job losses in certain sectors, especially those involving low-skilled and repetitive tasks.
“Over the next five years you will see jobs disappearing, but new ones come in. Technology will not result in fewer jobs; on the contrary, there will be many more jobs driven by technology,” Matthews said.
Additionally, specialised skills such as data analysis, cyber-security, and artificial intelligence will be highly sought after. ManpowerGroup’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jonas Prising said Thailand possesses the advantage of a growing workforce as opposed to the United States, China and Europe where talent pools are shrinking.
Nevertheless, the biggest challenge for Thai authorities is to both upskill and reskill its workforce, especially in information technology and English language skills, he added.
Prising said reform in the education system was needed to produce workers to support rapid changes, while companies needed reskilled and upskilled personnel within their organisations.
He identified four main trends driving the labour market:
– It is getting more difficult to find skilled people to work.
– Technology use was fast-tracked from five per cent in pre-COVID times to 40 per cent during the pandemic as people worked remotely.
– More people are embracing the idea of work-life balance.
– Companies are adopting flexible perspectives and rejigging their supply chains.
