On January 11, 2023, the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, presided over the opening ceremony of the “Joining Together to Create Jobs, Careers and Income” project under the “Continuing, Maintaining, Extending, Revising, and Transforming the Thai Labour Market” policy. The Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labour and Acting Director-General of the Department of Skill Development, Ms. Bubpha Rueangsud, Chonburi Provincial Governor, Mr. Tawatchai Srithong, the Ministry of Labour’s senior executives, and heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Chonburi Province, joined the welcoming at the Eastern College of Technology (E. Tech.), Chonburi Province.
The Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, said that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted Thai workers. The Ministry of Labour recognizes the impact on the workforce that caused the country’s economy to slow down. After the COVID-19 situation, the Ministry of Labour found that the employment rate decreased as businesses adjusted to implementing transactions via online systems and adapted to more digital channels through various technologies in management. The adaptations created new businesses that required workers in the formal system to develop their skills to keep up with emerging businesses. Many people also turned to additional occupations or independent careers. Therefore, leveling up and learning new skills is an important mission for the Ministry of Labour to bring skilled workers back into the employment system and create a strong informal workforce to provide a stable and sustainable economic system. Therefore, the Department of Skill Development was tasked to organize the “Joining Together to Create Jobs, Careers, and Income” event for Thai workers to have the opportunity to learn about various occupations. Information can be used to choose a career according to aptitude and needs.
The Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labour and Acting Director-General of the Department of Skill Development, Ms. Bubpha Rueangsud, said that the Department of Skill Development has carried out skill development initiatives through upskilling, reskilling, and teaching new skills for workers in the formal sector, informal sector and the unemployed, to have sufficient knowledge for work to return to the labour market. It has promoted new ways of learning through offline and online channels, developing additional vocational training courses and professional skills programs for the new generation, who prefer freelance work, and supplementary occupations to raise income levels. It also targets community economies, focused on innovation and the right technology, by the community for a sustainable community, and to bring the policy into practice in another form. More than ten activities were organized at the event, including a meeting with the workforce. There were 20 leading enterprises taking job applications, clinics to promote skill development, advisory on the Skill Development Promotion Act B.E. 2545, and certification of knowledge, competency and skill standard test requests. There was also the “Together as One, for the People to Rely on” event, but agencies under the Ministry of Labour. In addition, there was the showcase and sale of community products and OTOP products to support businesses, and the display of products and technologies in the Industrial Internet of Things, providing knowledge on self-reliant agriculture, showcasing the Mini Plant Factory system, and giving advice about the smart fish cage system. There were also demonstrations of vocational training for over 30 occupational fields.
“The “Joining Together to Create Jobs, Careers, and Income” career fair is for workers and students to realize the importance of skill development, the current work trend, and future labour demands. The knowledge will allow them to develop themselves to be ready to enter the workforce to build a career and have a stable income which is an important force in driving the country’s economy further,” concluded Mr. Suchart.
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Division of Public Relations
11 January 2023
