Non-Thai youths 'should be granted vocational papers'

The call for the petition won support from National Human Rights commissioner Amara Pongsapich, who said she would forward the issue to the Labour Ministry for endorsement. The issue will then be handed over to the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission, so non-Thai nationals can be granted certificates after completing vocational training. 

Researcher Darunee Paisalpanichkul, also a law lecturer with Naresuan University, said not getting a certificate was having a demoralising effect on non-Thai youngsters who hoped for secure careers. Non-Thais are not granted a certificate after completing their vocational courses because they don’t have the 13-digit ID number required under the Department of Skill Development |regulations. 

She said learning a skill was part of the right to basic education that the state is required to provide everybody. By denying that right, Thailand was violating a number of human-rights treaties that it is part of, she added. 

Darunee’s study included interviews with many non-Thai youngsters. One of the youngsters interviewed was Aranya Maklai – a Chiang Mai-based Myanmar girl – who says she is not eligible to get a certificate for the sewing course that she has completed. Hence, she has had to work at a factory producing drinking water for two years earning just Bt240 a day – a lot less than she would have received if she had a certificate. 

Similarly, hilltribe girl Phad Lungta, who has completed bakery and Thai-cooking courses in Chiang Mai, is consistently turned down for a job in the kitchen because all employers want her to produce a certificate. So, she’s now working as a waitress for Bt180 a day. 

Speaking at a recent Bangkok seminar, Darunee said most non-Thais turned to vocational or skill training because they could not afford upper secondary or undergraduate studies, only to be denied opportunities later due to bureaucratic regulations.