Jobs for young Thai people

[jai yen yen]

Hello, My wifes son is graduating from High school next year and he is concerned about finding work. He says his friends that are graduating from university are having a hard time finding work as well. We could send him to university but it may be pointless. I know in Canada young people can go into a trade like electrician, plumber, carpenter or mechanic and do very well. Does this hold true for Thailand? Are there trade schools and can a young guy make a living? Any suggestions or info would be great.

[Stantheman]

Been a few years ago but wifes nephew took small engine repair at the technical college in Udon, you might look into whatvthey offer.

[pf-flyer]

When I was working at a University in the field of IT Support in the U.S. I hired Technicians and Managers for positions in Information Technology support . Some of those positions just required trade school training. My suggestion from my experience when I was working and hiring would be to have your son find a person that is willing to talk to him and currently working in the field that he is interested in pursuing and ask that person what kind of background they have and how they got the position that they are currently working in and what are their experiences in working in that field. People who graduate from a trade school can do very well especially if they have done an internship to acquire the skills, qualifications and experience to land a position in the field of work that they are interested in pursuing. Sometimes it is necessary to move to another area where there are positions available in order to land a job. I wish your son the best and Good Luck.

[maaka]

its village life where I am. Poor folk..no real jobs for young people. no money to send them to Uni, but I notice my electrician who is probably self taught, is teaching his teenage son, and I clue them up with helping install my solar systems. Ourselves, well the missus wont stop talking about money these days, or the lack of it, and is even threatening to have a word to our teenage son to say his dream of going to Uni to be a Sport Teacher, is not on. I am trying to teach him all the farm/ hands on work, was planning to buy a tractor so could create a job for him. I noticed the missus chatting with him the other day when I was paying our usual tractor driver off, ' see Son 2000bt for 45 mintues work, thats what papa is trying to teach you....I myself was expelled from High School at 15yrs, and reckon it was the best thing for me, as it got me into the work force and earning money way before my mates did

[86Tiger]

I suggest it pretty much universal a man can make a good living if he learns a trade, has good work ethic and sticks to it for long term. While it will take several years to properly learn and gain adequate experience, once learned every electrcian, plumber, hvac, mechanic, etc. can work on his on and do well.

I never recommend college for any one unless they know exactly what they want to study and it can lead to viable career. Attending because I can or it is expected is waste of time and money. It takes more determination and hard work to achieve a marketable degree such as engineering.

The key to it all is what interests your son. If he is not interested and motivated in what he is learning he will not be successful.

[Bandung_Dero]

After 5 years of collage in Udon with all the associated expenses my step daughter went down to Bangkok earlier this year to be presented with her diploma in business management by a member of the royal family. That was the last 10K Baht of completely wasted money. Should have spent it setting her up in a clothing store or similar after she graduated high school. Her boyfriend of many years graduated in sports physiology (don't ask!), at least he is employed filling and servicing ATM machines for a security company. Certainly is very hard for young school leavers.

[tamada]

Mrs tam's oldest niece languished for the best part of a year after graduating from Rajabhat. After a 6-month, totally unpaid 'internship' at Bangkok Hospital, she was back home, lazing around in her room, sucking up the free internet and lamenting the lack of opportunities. However, about 2 months ago she was hired in some sort of management trainee position at a new Mini Big C. I think she's passed the probationary bit as the plain white polo shirt was recently replaced by the standard branded, green one. It appears to be about 6 months of shelf stacking, stock checking and check-out shift work before any bespoke management training kicks in. We're hoping she meets a nice bloke who'll fork out the sin sodt and take her away from us.

Quickly!

[pal52]

The best thing that could help young people is for the Future Forward party to get the bill passed that they will put forward this week.

It is to stop conscription & replace it with a system where volunteers in the armed forces will be given a 5 year training programme to learn a trade & come out of the Forces with a recognized qualification and be given a decent wage whilst training.

We all know that will probably never happen with this government at present but you never know.

[Old Grumpy]

I think this depends on the kid, my step son aged 21 went to a technical college from 18-20 years, whilst there he was sent on job experience with a motorbike manufacturer in Chonburi, no pay but free accommodation and food , this ended when it was disclosed the school was getting a back hander for providing the cheap labour, no employment was offered at the end of the period, only a piece pf paper to say he had been there.When questioned as to what he had learnt there it was apparent, nothing, he had just been on the assembly line .So aged 20 he just hung around waiting to go to do his time in the army, doing casual "work" in the night market. Then silly me thinking he would learn something in the army I let him wait ,now after 6 months in the army I have discovered what he is learning? After one months initiation, we used to call it square bashing, He was given a so called job, he was deployed to gather the golf balls from the lake of the adjoining golf course ,now he is part of the group making up the Chinese dragon for the forth coming parade. Neither of which could make a living for him in civvy street, fortunately he is enjoying himself so much he is thinking of signing on as a regular at the end of his current service
Two of his same age friends who missed the draft are working overseas, one in Israel, the other in Sth Korea, both sets of parents had to pay to get them there, one is working as an electrician the other picking fruit, but both are sending money home every month .
Compare this to two nieces of roughly the same age, both went to college, one is now a qualified SRN nurse, the other having got her degree is working as a pharmacist, both are buying their own car from decent salaries.
Now I don't know whether it's a difference in opportunity available to girls that isn't there for the boys, or simply a different mind set between them . I suspect the latter , but Thai girls certainly seem to have a different work ethic to their male siblings .
'

[pf-flyer]

A common theme out in the villages is men young and old going to another country to work. They will send money home for years. Sometimes it will be up for 5 years or more. Most of the time the mother or wife will save most of the money in a bank account that is sent home and then after the man comes home they will use the money that was saved to build a house and/or buy a truck. There have been situations where a husband returned home to discover that all of the money he sent home is gone.
Life in the village at times can have more drama that a Thai Soap Opera.

[jai yen yen]

After 5 years of collage in Udon with all the associated expenses my step daughter went down to Bangkok earlier this year to be presented with her diploma in business management by a member of the royal family. That was the last 10K Baht of completely wasted money. Should have spent it setting her up in a clothing store or similar after she graduated high school. Her boyfriend of many years graduated in sports physiology (don't ask!), at least he is employed filling and servicing ATM machines for a security company. Certainly is very hard for young school leavers.

This is what I am learning about University, the costs and the lack of jobs afterwards. I really think a trade school may be the answer, otherwise he now thinks he may want to come to Canada and live with us but that would mean learning English and starting all over. He is 19 now and I can see 4 or 5 years of school and training before he could stand on his own.

[jai yen yen]

Mrs tam's oldest niece languished for the best part of a year after graduating from Rajabhat. After a 6-month, totally unpaid 'internship' at Bangkok Hospital, she was back home, lazing around in her room, sucking up the free internet and lamenting the lack of opportunities. However, about 2 months ago she was hired in some sort of management trainee position at a new Mini Big C. I think she's passed the probationary bit as the plain white polo shirt was recently replaced by the standard branded, green one. It appears to be about 6 months of shelf stacking, stock checking and check-out shift work before any bespoke management training kicks in. We're hoping she meets a nice bloke who'll fork out the sin sodt and take her away from us.

Quickly! LOL, Sounds a little like my Thai stepson. I don't cherish the thought of him living with us for an extended period of time, he has visited here in Canada before and is the same as your neice.

[jai yen yen]

The best thing that could help young people is for the Future Forward party to get the bill passed that they will put forward this week.

It is to stop conscription & replace it with a system where volunteers in the armed forces will be given a 5 year training programme to learn a trade & come out of the Forces with a recognized qualification and be given a decent wage whilst training.

We all know that will probably never happen with this government at present but you never know.

That does sound good.

[jai yen yen]

I think this depends on the kid, my step son aged 21 went to a technical college from 18-20 years, whilst there he was sent on job experience with a motorbike manufacturer in Chonburi, no pay but free accommodation and food , this ended when it was disclosed the school was getting a back hander for providing the cheap labour, no employment was offered at the end of the period, only a piece pf paper to say he had been there.When questioned as to what he had learnt there it was apparent, nothing, he had just been on the assembly line .So aged 20 he just hung around waiting to go to do his time in the army, doing casual "work" in the night market. Then silly me thinking he would learn something in the army I let him wait ,now after 6 months in the army I have discovered what he is learning? After one months initiation, we used to call it square bashing, He was given a so called job, he was deployed to gather the golf balls from the lake of the adjoining golf course ,now he is part of the group making up the Chinese dragon for the forth coming parade. Neither of which could make a living for him in civvy street, fortunately he is enjoying himself so much he is thinking of signing on as a regular at the end of his current service
Two of his same age friends who missed the draft are working overseas, one in Israel, the other in Sth Korea, both sets of parents had to pay to get them there, one is working as an electrician the other picking fruit, but both are sending money home every month .
Compare this to two nieces of roughly the same age, both went to college, one is now a qualified SRN nurse, the other having got her degree is working as a pharmacist, both are buying their own car from decent salaries.
Now I don't know whether it's a difference in opportunity available to girls that isn't there for the boys, or simply a different mind set between them . I suspect the latter , but Thai girls certainly seem to have a different work ethic to their male siblings .
'

While I was living in Thailand I found that the women worked harder than a lot of the men, I think this has something to do with the way Thais kind of spoil the boys. I know when my wife was a 5 years old she got the job of packing water to the house from a mile or so away while the older boys sat around. Today she only weighs about 95 pounds and that is after I brought her to Canada and fattened her up from her previous weight of 88 pounds. I can only imagine how hard it would have been for her to pack two buckets of water on a pole for multiple trips and being that small. But it was expected of her and she did it.

[FrazeeDK]

here's a thought.. Do you have any friend or family with a good factory job down in the eastern seaboard area around Chon Buri and Rayong? If so a visit by the lad of a couple of weeks and checking out the companies might be beneficial. Perhaps he could go to a number of the plants and ask what qualifications/certifications would make him a viable candidate for a good job. Of course he equally could go around Udon to find similar prospects although its more limited here. I've got a niece and her husband who work for a quite reputable Japanese Auto Parts manufacturing company. They've been with the company since around 2008 or so. The husband is electrician qualified via tech school and worked his way up to assistant production manager making around 45K baht a month. Our niece is a HS grad who works doing inventory control making around 15K baht a month. There are options out there and young adults need to think out of the box on finding a good job. Don't start school without some type of end-goal that has high chances of paying off..

[semperfiguy]

I have some uneducated relatives back in Tennessee who lost their jobs during the recession around 2007, and rather than take a new job which was outside their skillset and paying lower wages than they had before, they sat on their butts and collected food stamps and other government handouts. Most young kids have no idea what kind of career path they are best suited for, so rather than sit on their lazy butts and get into mischief that might destroy their lives while waiting for the perfect job to fall into their laps, I suggest they take a job that may be beneath their expectations just to get them in gear. You'd be surprised what doors will open once they begin to display good work habits, dedication, responsibility and honest character. Someone will take notice and they could easily work their way into the perfect job which could afford them more than they ever expected. Idle hands are the playground of the devil!!

​
Proverbs chapter 22, verse 13, reads, “The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”” In chapter 26, verse 13, the sluggard again says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”​
This suggests that that a sluggard person will do anything possible to make excuses for not going to work.

[tamada]

here's a thought.. Do you have any friend or family with a good factory job down in the eastern seaboard area around Chon Buri and Rayong? If so a visit by the lad of a couple of weeks and checking out the companies might be beneficial. Perhaps he could go to a number of the plants and ask what qualifications/certifications would make him a viable candidate for a good job. Of course he equally could go around Udon to find similar prospects although its more limited here. I've got a niece and her husband who work for a quite reputable Japanese Auto Parts manufacturing company. They've been with the company since around 2008 or so. The husband is electrician qualified via tech school and worked his way up to assistant production manager making around 45K baht a month. Our niece is a HS grad who works doing inventory control making around 15K baht a month. There are options out there and young adults need to think out of the box on finding a good job. Don't start school without some type of end-goal that has high chances of paying off..

I gave up assisting with suggesting employment options for both nieces when it appeared that they only wanted to work locally. In that I don't mean only in Udon Thani but somewhere less than 10 minutes on the motorbike from their free bed and breakfast! The youngest niece's first job was at a milk processing place a whole 700 yards from home an she insisted that she have one of the motorbikes for that grueling, daily commute. Of course, when motorbikes have flat tires or the gas tank is suddenly empty, it's time to use the next bike. One morning she asked if I could charge the flat battery on the last motorbike standing and she got all upset when I suggested that either of the push bikes were OK if she didn't want to walk. She eventually got fired for repeatedly coming back late from lunch... taken at home!

Although I used get a bit upset at the perpetual Thai bashers that one comes across, I would always offer that Thai indolence isn't universal and cultural mores can account for a multitude of what only we see as sins. However, a few months back, Mrs tam nailed it for me when in an unsolicited assessment of the economic and political shambles this country is in, she claimed it's primarily because "Thai people are just lazy" and she wasn't just talking about her brother and sister either.

[jai yen yen]

I have some uneducated relatives back in Tennessee who lost their jobs during the recession around 2007, and rather than take a new job which was outside their skillset and paying lower wages than they had before, they sat on their butts and collected food stamps and other government handouts. Most young kids have no idea what kind of career path they are best suited for, so rather than sit on their lazy butts and get into mischief that might destroy their lives while waiting for the perfect job to fall into their laps, I suggest they take a job that may be beneath their expectations just to get them in gear. You'd be surprised what doors will open once they begin to display good work habits, dedication, responsibility and honest character. Someone will take notice and they could easily work their way into the perfect job which could afford them more than they ever expected. Idle hands are the playground of the devil!!

​
Proverbs chapter 22, verse 13, reads, “The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”” In chapter 26, verse 13, the sluggard again says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”​
This suggests that that a sluggard person will do anything possible to make excuses for not going to work.

I agree 100%, the problem is this 19 year old boy has no drive. He did not want to come to live with us in Canada 10 years ago so we put him in a very good private school with the understanding he would learn English so that if he decided to move to Canada he would have a good start. Of course he didn't so now if he did move over here it would be a long time going back to school, learning a trade and then finally finding a job to support himself. I envision a very long time having this kid hanging around our house. Of course his mom is upset and wants to bring him here and hold his hand some more which is exactly what he does not need. I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and comments and I think the best solution is a trade school than cut off his free income to force him to get motivated. Hopefully I don't end up divorced over this. LOL.

[Khun Paul]

It is not just the fact that Thais seem to be lazy it appears more and more at their inability to use logic or Critical thinking . They fail to see that a job any job starts them on the ladder or work, then they fail to see the advantages of improving their skills. They do not get paid more in some cases here they do not get paid at all ( because the boss is busy elsewhere ) !.
So the syslem of indolence and becoming workshy starts and stops at their death.

[jackspratt]

Seems that 36 million+ lazy, indolent and workshy Thais didn't get your memo, KP.

https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/employed-persons

Just gotta love these broad-brush, and border line racist, generalisations about the native population of the country we choose to live in.