‘Graduate surplus shows need for well-honed job seekers’

As many Thai young people opt for undergraduate courses at universities over vocational or technical education, the country has an overwhelming number of university graduates swamping the labour market.

“Most seekers based their decisions to study on other things – such as peers, parents or social trends – rather than their own passion, aptitude or personality,” said Tidarat Kanchanawat, regional director of Thailand and Vietnam Adecco Group. 

“This has led to many graduates’ lack of motivation to work, or self-development for career advancement.”

“Now the labour market is more competitive, so graduates are facing more challenges in applying for jobs. They must compete among themselves to be selected,” she said.

“Job seekers must be well-prepared and shine amid the overload of job candidates. They have to be outstanding enough to be picked up to join companies,” she added.

 

Career guidance

Her comment came during the recent event titled “Way To Work” by Adecco. The agency, committed to curb youth unemployment, provided a variety of career guidance, job orientation workshops, and coaching sessions on job interview and resume writing techniques, to help graduates land the most appropriate jobs. 

“Visiting this event helps us discover ourselves. It guides us to suitable jobs in terms of our potential and personality,” said Maytinee Sripoonjun and Nantaporn Kapol, both 23. The two women graduated a year ago. “I want to be an engineer and the evaluation result matched the desired career of mine. This helped confirm that I am heading towards the right career path,” Maytinee said.

“Thailand doesn’t really encounter an unemployment crisis. There are plenty of vacant jobs. But many Thais don’t have skills needed to do such jobs, [leaving] many people unemployed,” said Thiti Chantira, a 23-year-old former teacher who is looking for a job. 

Also, most university graduates expected their initial salary to be Bt18,000 (without work experience) and Bt21,000 (with work experience). However, Adecco Thailand Salary Guide said most companies offered an initial salary of Bt15,000 to the candidates with work experience, ranging from 0-5 years. Some careers may pay higher depending on candidates’ language skills.