Jobs overseas cheaper if sought via ministry
AS of the end of June, the number of Thais working overseas stood at 148,240, according the Labour Ministry, and the top five countries are Taiwan with 59,021, Malaysia 38,824, Singapore 36,000, Israel 25,824, and South Korea with 22,825.
Arak Phrommanee, deputy permanent secretary and spokesman for the Labour Ministry, said on Wednesday that Thai workers saved a great deal in expenses – up to Bt226 million totally – when applying for overseas jobs through the ministry.
For instance, a job in Israel costs just Bt76,500 compared to the Bt300,000 charged by placement agencies, Arak said. For a job in South Korea, workers are charged no more than Bt33,000 compared to the agencies’ rate of Bt200,000 per head, for technical apprenticeship in Japan, they pay only Bt6,005 instead of Bt200,000, while a placement in Taiwan costs up to Bt15,000 instead of Bt70,000.
Arak said the ministry had set up Thailand Overseas Employment Administration (TOEA) branches in 10 provinces in a bid to protect people from being duped by illegal job placement agents. The TOEA branches are in Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Chaiyaphum, Nong Khai, Sakhon Nakhon, Chiang Rai, Lampang and Sukhothai provinces.
Though 12,628 people registered for job openings in June, only 1,107 were sent overseas through the ministry.
Arak said Thai workers overseas repatriated Bt6.715 billion to Thailand in June, recording a 6.6 per cent drop from Bt7.19 billion in the same month last year.
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