The Deputy Labour Minister assigned the Strategic Advisory Panel to visit Nan, to discuss with the Abbot of Wat Pong Kham, the Governor of Nan Province and community leaders, to prepare agricultural workers’ training courses towards digital agriculture.
On November 24, 2020, Deputy Labour Minister Prof. Narumon Pinyosinwat reported that she had assigned Strategic Advisor to the Deputy Labour Minister Mr. Piras Kwanchai and faculty, to visit Nan, which is a province that is responsible for driving Thailand together. In addition, there were representatives of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), Huawei Technology (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and Cat Buzz TV Co., Ltd., to discuss the development of e-commerce skills for workers in Nan, including agricultural workers, informal labour and community enterprise groups. The provincial governor, Chairman of the Nan Provincial Industry Council, and Deputy Director-General of the Department of Skill Development also joined the discussion.
Mr. Piras said that the team visited the area to meet with many workers, including elderly farmers close to Wat Pong Kham and Du Phong subdistricts. They visited the Silver Jewelry Handicraft Center, Doi Silver Factory in Pua district, the Cluster Agriculture Processing Group, Peanut House in Muang district and Chompoo Phu Kha Silverware Center, Chaiyasathan, Muang district, and the Vocational Training Center for Persons with Disabilities, Pha Sing, Muang district, in Nan. They acknowledged the need for help in skill development, in which the Department of Skill Development under the supervision of the Labour Minister had accelerated the drive for action, ready to consolidate network partners to support digital skills training in the area. The effort is in collaboration with the private sector, which will provide intensive training to all groups of workers in Nan. The Nan Skill Development Office will take the responsibility of scheduling the date, time, place of training, and coordinate with community leaders.
Deputy Director-General of the Department of Skill Development Mr. Prateep Songlamyong added that in 2021, the Nan Skill Development Office targets to develop skills for 1,115 workers in the area, covering both formal and informal workers, including agricultural workers. He said that operations could not be done by a single unit and would require integration with many departments, including the public and private sectors. As such, they have assigned the Nan Skill Development Office to coordinate with the labour skill development network partners, to jointly develop workers in the area by providing courses that are up to date with technology, add value and income, and meet market demand, whether it is preparing skill to apply for work in the workplace or skills that can be used for self-employment. He said that it is important to have a follow-up evaluation after implementation, such as what occupations trainees undertake, which will serve as useful information for the improvement or development of courses and help analyze the demand trend. For this time, Nan had a great opportunity to work with a leading digital company from the private sector to support the training. It is expected to expand to other provinces in the future.
—————————————————————————–
Division of Public Relations
24 November 2020
