PHAYAO, 21 July 2012 – Mr. Sumet Mahosot, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Employment, presided over the opening of a seminar to give guidance on employment opportunies, in Phayao province.
He stated the Department of Employment has laid down projects to prepare Thai workers for the Asean Economic Community (AEC). These projects include improving language skill of laborers, and increasing the number of labor in the market, highly skilled labor in particular, which is now in severe shortage. He expressed concerns that the AEC would result in substantial migrations of Thai labor to other Asean members, causing a shortage within the country.
The Department of Employment is committed to ensuring jobs for Thai laborers, by giving them a preference over migrant workers. According to the Deputy Director-General, there are eight professions that are restricted to Thai workers, including doctors and engineers. He stated it was necessary the government devises measures ensuring Thais of first priorities in domestic recruitments.
Mr. Sumet also stated that presently there is a great demand for labor although the rate of unemployment is still high. This results from the fact that graduates do not posses necessary qualifications to fill in the vacancies. He advised students to follow their interests and to investigate the needs of the current labor market, in order to ensure their employment in the future.
