The Labour Minister chaired the MOU signing ceremony on developing skills and promoting careers to drive a quality workforce to businesses.
On October 2, 2020, Deputy Labour Minister Prof. Narumon Pinyosinwat chaired the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding to develop skills and promote careers between the Department of Skill Development (DSD) and the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG). The Department of Skill Development’s Director-General Mr. Tawat Benchatikul, and General Manager of the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation Mr. Rak Worakitpoka, were the signatories. Advisor to the Deputy Labour Minister M.L. Puntrik Smiti and Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labour Mrs. Tongjai Suthat Na Ayutthaya also attended the ceremony at the Miracle Grand Convention Hotel in Bangkok.
Prof. Narumon said that the government led by Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha has the policy to support and organize promotional welfare and to ensure access to funding and self-employment promotion. These professions allow the freedom to define their styles and ways of working by choosing a career that people like or believe they are good at. It also allows workers to develop their own and study the details of a career, then takes necessary training as a key option. The initiative promotes employment, income, and alleviates unemployment problems. The DSD and TCG have agreed to cooperate to promote and support the self-employed group of workers, which has passed skills training by the Department of Skill Development, such as community technicians, electricians, plumbers, car repairmen, air conditioners, barbers, and builders, to develop knowledge and skills until they can go to work or operate their businesses. The efforts further ensure access to funding sources and improve the quality of life of the workforce to earn income to support themselves and their families, reducing disparity and supporting the expansion of the Thai economy.
The Deputy Labour Minister added that Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan emphasized both formal and informal workers’ employment. The meeting passed a resolution approving the development of skills to support the target s-curve industries. The subcommittee had to expedite the implementation of operational plans to develop skilled workers following the industry’s needs. There are still some groups of workers, especially occupational workers and bachelor’s degree holders, who have skills that do not meet the specific needs of the industry. There are currently over 550,000 people with disabilities who have work restrictions. This may be caused by the job position that is inconsistent with the disabled, or that people with disabilities have inconveniences traveling to work. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and the Ministry of Labour will plan to assist people with disabilities to acquire occupational skills, which may be a freelance profession; this type of self-employment requires a source of funds. It is hoped that the signing of the MoU today will benefit these workers as well.
“The cooperation will support the organization of training courses related to entrepreneurship, especially the self-employed group. It will compile a list of trainees and those who intend to borrow from banks participating in the program. The TCG will coordinate with 19 different financial institutions such as Government Savings Bank, BAAC, Islamic Bank of Thailand. Krung Thai Bank and Kasikorn Bank, for example, to apply for loans from such financial institutions. The TCG will be the credit guarantor for those interested in working, supporting speakers to advise on money management, and starting a business as a new entrepreneur (startup),” concluded the Deputy Labour Minister.
The activities at the event consisted of credit counseling provided by TCG. Examples of occupations were welders, electricians, plumbers for sanitary ware, air conditioner technicians, and self-employed workers related to cooking, provided by the Department of Skill Development. There will also be an exhibition of SMEs credit operations of financial institutions, consisting of Government Savings Bank, Bank for Agriculture and Cooperatives (BAAC), TISCO Bank, and the Thai Credit Bank, to educate people about the credit criteria for those who are interested.
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Division of Public Relations
2 October 2020
