ManpowerGroup, universities in employment drive

The “Human Capital Development towards the Future Society Project” aims to help students improve their potential for pursuing an approaching career path, as only 60 per cent of about
 300,000 fresh graduates each year are currently able to find jobs.
The objectives of the project are threefold: to ensure that these graduates are well prepared for work; to supply a labour force that meets the market’s demand; and to prepare Thai labour for the forthcoming AEC.
The workforce-solutions company has teamed up in the project with the Education Department and the Employment Department of the Labour Ministry and leading institutions such as Kasetsart University, King Mongkut’s Insti-tute of Technology Lat Krabang, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok University, Sripatum University and Chetupon Commercial College.
Simon Matthews, country manager of Manpower Thailand and Middle East, acknowledged yesterday that many countries foresee the significance of fresh graduates, but these job seekers lack proper guidelines and adequate access to the target market.
As the AEC will transform Thai society in terms of trade, investment and economic ties with neighbours, the workforce will be an essential factor in stepping into other countries in the future, he said.
“I realise that at present, most Thai students are not yet alerted about the AEC. They are unprepared and have a lack of awareness of the future situation. Some of them have an idea about this, but will adapt only when it’s much nearer the time. I am positive that the Human Capital Development towards the Future Society Project will be the gear in the primary system towards finding the right career path, reducing the process of finding a job, helping the students to prepare themselves for a working society, as well as fulfilling the needs of the labour market,” he said.

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The project will begin by equipping the workforce with the ability to communicate in English, which has been set as the working language of Asean.
Other primary skills to be focused on include craftsmanship and computational skills, whereas secondary skills are human relations, cooperation and professionalism.
Training sessions and seminars offering tips and tricks as students enter the employment realm will be held, with guest speakers ranging from academics, experienced individuals from the business and industrial sectors, and from the human-resources departments of leading firms in Thailand, through to qualified experts who will unlock the key to the future of the AEC, Matthews said.
ManpowerGroup will be on a Thai roadshow until the end of the year, recruiting students who are graduating this year and heading towards a career path with a variety of job vacancies in participating institutions to choose from.
The group will also discuss job hunting and give career advice on matters such as how to present oneself through a resume, searching the job market, interview questions and answers, personality development, and how to succeed.
According to past surveys conducted by the group, there is an imbalance between supply and demand in the Thai labour market, where there is a greater need for semi-skilled workers than skilled workers.
This refers to those with high school, vocational, and high vocational certificates, with labour demand for each year of about 100,000 workers or 33 per cent of the annual 300,000 vocational graduates.
Skilled workers with a higher education and a bachelor’s degree are the biggest group of graduates facing more unemployment, a failure to meet with the market’s needs, the eternal search for the right job, and a blind perception of the actual requirements of hiring companies.
Every year, there are about 100,000 unemployed individuals in this segment, which is 40 per cent of the country’s bachelor’s graduates. In the future, these skilled workers may be shifted to the international arena at the middle-management level, the country manager said.
The Human Capital Develop-ment towards the Future Society Project will be a major turning point for a new generation of students and the graduates, and also will reduce unemployment in response to the arrival of the AEC, Matthews said.