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Home » News » NXPO Executive Board discusses manpower development strategy and plan

NXPO Executive Board discusses manpower development strategy and plan

āļ§āļąāļ™āļ—āļĩāđˆāđ€āļœāļĒāđāļžāļĢāđˆ 1 May 2020



At the recentâ€ŊNXPO Executive Board Meeting chaired by Dr. Suvit Maesincee, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, NXPO President Dr.â€ŊKitipong Promwongâ€Ŋpresentedâ€Ŋresults of a survey conducted by NXPO on high-skilled manpower demands in target industries in the next fiveâ€Ŋyears (2020-2024)â€Ŋand an outline of Manpower Developmentâ€ŊStrategy and Plan.â€Ŋ 

NXPOâ€Ŋconductedâ€Ŋa survey on workforce demandsâ€Ŋin the next five years (2020-2024)â€Ŋinâ€Ŋ12 targetâ€Ŋindustriesâ€Ŋ-â€ŊBiofuels & Biochemicals, Digital Industry, Aviation & Logistics, Wellness & Medical Devices, Automation & Robotics,â€ŊModern Transport, Smart Electronics, High-quality and Wellness Tourism, Agriculture & Biotechnology, Food Processing, Defense Industry and Education and Training.â€Ŋ The studyâ€Ŋrevealed thatâ€Ŋthere is a strongâ€Ŋdemandâ€Ŋforâ€Ŋtalents, ranging from bachelor’s to doctoral-degree holders to fulfillâ€Ŋ317,946â€Ŋjobs.â€ŊOf theseâ€Ŋdemands, 145,613 jobs are in BCG sector (Bio-Circular-Green economy), which can be broken down to: 74,244 jobs in Agriculture & Food,â€Ŋ20,153 jobs in Wellness &â€ŊMedicine,â€Ŋ9,836 jobs in Biofuels & Biochemicalsâ€Ŋand 41,380 jobs in Tourism and Creative Industry. While the education sector produces around 300,00 new graduates/year, the demands for new talents in target industries are 63,589 persons/year.â€Ŋ 

These results showed that the country can produce more than enough workforce to supply to industries, but the problem liesâ€Ŋinâ€Ŋthe quality of workforce. Industries now look for candidates with cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills. The study further revealed the current skill gaps in foreign language, computer literacy, mathematics and computation, management, thinking and communication. The challenge for the government is therefore to create an education system as well as update/redesign curriculaâ€Ŋand programs that will equip new graduates with knowledge and skills meeting the requirements of the industries, along with upskillingâ€Ŋand reskillingâ€Ŋprograms for current workforceâ€Ŋwhich can be achievedâ€Ŋthrough short courses, training and research.â€Ŋâ€Ŋ 

The Board of Investment has announcedâ€Ŋfiscal measuresâ€Ŋto encourage companies to provide training and apprenticeship programs toâ€Ŋtheirâ€Ŋemployees, including 250% tax exemption for training expenses – provided that the training is conducted by registered training organization andâ€Ŋin the fieldsâ€Ŋlisted onâ€Ŋthe Future Skills Set to be announced by NXPO, and 150% tax exemption for expenses spent on hiring employees with advanced STEM knowledge.â€Ŋ 

Ministerâ€ŊSuvitâ€Ŋcomplimented the extensiveness of the study and its usefulness in setting the strategy and plan for manpower development. However, as the study was conductedâ€Ŋprior toâ€Ŋthe COVID-19 outbreak, the strategy and plan will need to be re-evaluated taking into account the impact of COVID-19.â€ŊAs foreign investment will likelyâ€Ŋbeâ€Ŋpulled out, local economy will becomeâ€Ŋthe focus in the post-COVIDâ€Ŋperiod.â€Ŋ Workforce demands in local economy will therefore need to be investigated. Reskillingâ€Ŋprogram will be essential as the outbreak has re-shaped the economy, businessesâ€Ŋand the job market.â€Ŋ Ministerâ€ŊSuvitâ€Ŋsuggested that NXPO work with the private sector, economists and the Board of Investment on analyzing and developing the post-COVID scenarios of economy, investment and employment. Such scenarios will helpâ€Ŋdetermine manpower strategy and plan.â€Ŋ 

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