As digital technologies accelerate and global innovation shifts into a higher gear, the semiconductor and advanced electronics industry has become a powerful new driver of economic growth.

The sector is expanding rapidly. According to a McKinsey report, the global semiconductor market—worth USD 600 billion in 2021—is projected to surpass USD 1 trillion by 2030. This growth is fueled by two major trends:

1. Breakthroughs in emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, 5G, data centers, and autonomous vehicles.
2. Rising demand for smart electronic products—from smartphones and smart watches to advanced medical devices—which require increasingly sophisticated components including nano-scale processors, HDI PCBs, and a range of advanced electronic parts.

These technologies are generating tremendous economic value and reshaping the global economy. In recent years, many major companies in the semiconductor supply chain have relocated manufacturing to Southeast Asia. For Thailand, attracting these manufacturers offers significant opportunities—including job creation, technology transfer, and long-term industrial investment—that could establish the industry as a new engine of national growth. Thailand is already seeing encouraging momentum:

• In 2024, the electrical and electronics sector recorded the highest value of BOI-approved investment projects, totaling 231.71 billion THB.
• More than 60 leading PCB manufacturers from Taiwan and China have relocated production facilities to Thailand.

These investments are expected to create demand for 6,000–18,000 high-skilled workers by 2030, particularly specialists in electronics, chemistry, and materials science. To meet this challenge, Thailand must rapidly scale workforce development efforts—including reskilling and upskilling—while building a strong pool of industry-qualified trainers.

To address this need, NXPO is advancing a collaborative workforce development effort through the Job Guarantee Thailand program. The initiative brings together government agencies, industry partners, academic institutions, and international organizations to cultivate industry-qualified trainers. This effort is built on a tripartite co-creation model that leverages the strengths of:

1. Industry – Defining job requirements and competencies and co-developing talent aligned with real labor-market needs.
2. Higher education and research institutions – Supplying skilled science and research personnel who can be trained as instructors.
3. Private training institutions – Designing industry-aligned curricula and delivering training that leads directly to employment outcomes.

Through this collaboration, partners will co-develop curricula tailored to the semiconductor and advanced electronics industry and train 50 instructors from regional higher-education institutions. These instructors will, in turn, deliver training to targeted groups—including laid-off workers, jobseekers, recent graduates, and manufacturing employees—to ensure they are job-ready. The program aims to train 350 participants and establish a nationwide instructor network capable of scaling training across multiple regions. This initiative is a critical step toward building a future-ready workforce, addressing immediate labor shortages, and enhancing Thailand’s long-term competitiveness. More broadly, it supports the growth of technology-intensive industries that will drive Thailand’s economic transformation in the years ahead.