BANGKOK, April 21 – The Thai private sector has been urged to improve its competitive edge to cope with global development and impact from advanced technology, a senior Commerce Ministry said.
Srirat Rastapana, Permanent Secretary for Commerce, said changes in the 21st century will have an impact on Thailand’s labour, social and environmental status, compelling the private sector to urgently upgrade its competitiveness.
She said the World Economic Forum 2014 survey ranks Thailand at the same level as last year, and fourth among 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), after Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.
Thai manufacturers will have to emphasise the use of technology for development, innovation, and research and development. she said, while the public sector will have to work in parallel with private enterprises.
Ms Srirat said the public and private sectors must be open to the universal mindset and develop their organisations and personnel to embrace new technologies.
The world in the 21st century will be borderless and global problems cannot be solved by a single country, the permanent secretary said, calling on private enterprises of all sizes, whether small, medium or large, to focus more on corporate social responsibility both internally and externally.
Natural resources must be used with regard to co-existence in society and personnel within organisations must be encouraged to pay more attention to social responsibility, she said.
Ms Srirat said the world has gone through an industrial revolution with labour forces being replaced by machinery, but the new era will involve substitution of brains with machinery, and advanced technology will have economic, social and environment impacts.
The Thai private sector should be prepared for labour shortage as Thailand is heading towards an ageing society while the labour force should be developed to handle new technology, she said, adding that human resources will be significant to social and economic development in the future.
Under multilateralism, entrepreneurs must emphasise improvement of skills, intelligence, creativity, team work among co-workers and desire for innovation, she said.
