TDRI Urges New Graduates To Level Up Skills

BANGKOK, December 30 (TNA) – As anxieties over sluggish economy are expected to hit Thailand next year, the private-run Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) has urged students who will obtain Bachelor’s degree next summer to either further studies or gain more skills before entering the workforce. Yongyuth Chalaemwong, director of TDRI’s Labour Development Research, said Thailand’s labour situation in 2014 is quite worrisome due to several factors including global economy which is not expected to recover much plus domestic political turmoil which would affect spending by the government, eroding investor confidence and a decline in tourism industry. Thailand’s exports in 2014 would also depend on world economy, said Mr. Yongyuth, adding that if the country’s gross domestic product is lower than 4 per cent it would increase unemployment by 1 per cent. Earlier, it was projected that unemployment would be between 0.7-0.8 per cent, he said. The industrial sector, especially vehicles and food processing sectors are expected to be affected most, Mr. Yongyuth said. As many as 400,000 students complete Bachelor’s degree annually and because of the expected poor economy next year, they should either further studies or gain more skills before entering the workforce, he added. (TNA)