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Published on March 6, 2008

Thailand's automobile industry expects to face a shortage of 150,000 workers if there are no plans to develop human resources alongside the government's production targets for the country's carmakers. The government has set a production target of 2.5 million vehicles a year, including eco-cars, by 2015 as an industry priority.

At present, the industry employs 300,000 workers, and they produced 1.25 million vehicles last year, said Thavorn Chalassathien, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries' Auto-Parts Industry Club.

He said it would need another 150,000 workers to achieve the growth target. Highly qualified engineers will have to make up 10-20 per cent of the overall workforce, in order to support the industry's research and development. He also called on the government to speed up the building of an auto-parts testing centre, which was needed to maintain the competitiveness of local companies.

"Unless we have our own testing centre, how can we assure our customers in the global market of our product quality? This could be a significant obstacle to pushing our automotive industry forward," he said.

Thavorn said if Thai companies were determined to become the largest auto-parts exporters in Asia in the next two years, auto-parts exports would have to grow 15 per cent each year. "We'll have to boost our exports to a value of Bt1.1 trillion to become the regional leader," he said, adding that the export value of auto parts last year was Bt296 billion, up 16.75 per cent from 2006. The industry is aiming at 15-per-cent growth in exports of auto parts this year to a value of about Bt340 billion.

Meanwhile, the Thai Auto Parts Manufacturers' Association intends to become an Asian production hub within three years by accelerating the development of human resources and boosting the competitiveness of local manufacturers in global markets.

However, president Prasartsilp On-aht repeated Thavorn's concern that the industry was facing a shortage of skilled workers to achieve its expansion targets.

He said the shortage of workers was not a problem for the automotive industry alone. Competition between the electronics and automotive industries to attract skilled workers was growing tougher, he said.

The association has a strategy to produce more skilled workers by creating a network with other organisations and universities, such as the Thai-German Institute and the Rajamangala University of Technology in Bangkok.

"If we don't develop our human resources, we'll not be able to compete against our rivals," he said.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation