The new trend in the Thai workplace will be for creative industries leading to a creative economy.
Yuthasak Kanasawat, the agency's Investment Strategy and Policy Bureau director, said the board had approved plans focused on developing sustainable industries while preserving the environment and society - rather than heavy industry.
"Creative industries, which are knowledge-based, will pay higher salaries to workers," Yuthasak said.
To develop Thailand's competitiveness and productivity, Jit Siratranont - vice general secretary of the Thai Chamber of Commerce - said good workers needed four main attributes: knowledge in a specific field, working skills to make use of this knowledge, teamwork and right vision - meaning dignity and accountability.
"Thai human resources have specific knowledge, but they don't have working skills to make use of this knowledge; also teamwork and right vision are problems. [Skilled workers] have their own different and good plans - but cannot share and work together effectively, while integrity and accountability are not important. They use [business] management for improper self-defence," Jit said, urging them to correct these aspects.
Speakers from state and private sectors were invited to propose ideas on how to strengthen Thailand's competitiveness at a seminar yesterday at Bangkok's Siam City Hotel.
The "World Competitiveness Yearbook" of the International Institute for Management Development ranked Thailand's competitiveness at 26th out of 57 countries surveyed last year, and 27th in 2008.
Earlier, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he wanted Thailand to be ranked 16th in this year's survey, according to the seminar speakers.
Office of the Higher Education Commission secretary-general Sumate Yamnoon said education had not only to respond to social demand but also to the country's economic development.
He said 165 higher education and other vocational institutes could provide further education for 500,000 students who finished secondary education yearly, but the problem was education quality.
Sumate pointed out that both state and private universities' management should be flexible. University councils have the power to decide important issues, in which 99 per cent of decisions are made by the councils, and they should have academic autonomy to create new technology.
Yuthasak, as a representative from private enterprise, urged a tax reduction to lure international creative-industry investors to Thailand.
"Tax in Thailand is higher than in Singapore and Hong Kong," he added.
"It's expected that international companies will design their products in Thailand, apart from just the producing process. We'll encourage them to pass on their knowledge to their Thai employees. A tax-decrease measure may be used effectively to lure them into passing on the knowledge." Yuthasak said.
Bank of Thailand macroeconomist Songtham Pinto said although the Thai economy was ranked highly, the Kingdom would face more severe competition in the future.
"A better economic situation can result from financial and educational competition. So, Thailand should find how best to improve its workforce's quality and ability to initiate innovation, which is the most difficult and most important thing to do. Teaching to be competitive and able to think is crucial for strengthening the economy," he said.
A company executive at the seminar said she wanted universities to facilitate entrepreneurs, like her company, who planned to offer job opportunities for graduates and to seriously collaborate with them to run cooperative education to enhance students' working skills.
She said complicated procedures of coordination with some universities had discouraged her.
