Dr. Rattana Lao, a senior consultant for innovative education at Kenan Institute Asia, on how vocational education can be improved in Thailand to address the skills gap and prepare the country for the Industry 4.0 era.

1. © 2018 Kenan Institute Asia
Building Thailand 4.0: How STEM
for TVET can improve access and
quality of vocational education
Rattana Lao, PhD
Kenan Institute Asia
Rattanas@Kenan-asia.org

2. © 2018 Kenan Institute Asia 2
The Fourth Industrial Revolution

3. © 2018 Kenan Institute Asia
Key Questions :
 How does the changing nature of
work – given the rise of
digitalization, automation and
robotics – change the nature
of education?
 What kinds of subjects do students
need to prepare for
the fourth industrial revolution?
 What kind of pedagogy is
responsive to the future of work?

4. © 2018 Kenan Institute Asia
Thailand 4.0 and the Skill Mismatch
The World Bank found that 40% of international firms reported
that the skills shortage is one of the top 3 constraints of doing
business in Thailand (2012)

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TVET in Thailand: Access and Quality
SMART
Industry 4.0
Limited Access
o Limited access of students in TVET
o Low number of students attending TVET: 1 million students
compared to 2.5 million in Higher education
o The government aspired to achieve 60/40 but the current
ratio is 69/31
o The new target is 50/50
o There are 415 public and 427 private colleges.
Limited Quality
- From PISA scores, 75% of students do not obtain
basic mathematics skills from Level 2 and 32% of
students are below level 0.
- Mismatched between diploma and jobs
- Each year, there are 120,000 graduates but more
than 35,000 jobs cannot be filled
- 47% diploma graduates choose unskilled jobs

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School Level
• Lack sufficient materials and labs
• Lack skills in math and science
• Lack qualified and trained teachers
• Students lack basic skills and fundamental knowledge
Lack school – industrial linkages
Industrial Level
Societal Level
Images of violence
Inferiority complex
Ambiguous direction
Lack of connection between OVEC and
OPEC
Policy Level
TVET in Thailand: The quality issues

7. © 2018 Kenan Institute Asia 7
Recommend 1:
Creating STEM through
technology program
reinforced through work-
related project.
New Technicians for Thailand 4.0
Recommend 2:
Provide resources i.e.
technology to support STEM
through technology program
Recommend 3:
Select OVEC schools to
trial STEM through
technology program
Recommend 4:
Build capacity of teachers
and trainers
Source: Kenan Institute Asia (2017).
New Manufacturing Technicians Responding to Industry 4.0

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Supporting
materials
Principal’s training
Train math and
science teachers
Monitoring and
Evaluation
STEM for TVET: Professional
Development and Technical Enhancement

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• Meets OVEC units of competency
and time allocations
• Links to the world of work
• Provides the foundational mathematics
required by technicians in Industry 4.0
• Addresses the needs of all learners
in mathematics
9
Subjects: Active Physics and
Interactive Mathematics
Interactive, problem-based approach to
teaching and learning mathematics

10. © 2018 Kenan Institute Asia
64% of students reported that science is their favorite subject and nearly 90%
reported they “enjoy science”. 95% of teachers confirmed.
88% reported they work in teams while learning about science.
84% of teachers related science concepts to the world of work –
making it less abstract. 95% used science in real life situational contexts.
14
Monitoring and Evaluation of STEM
for TVET
44% of teachers in the program used project-based learning approach –
compared to 24% of other teachers.
67% of classrooms were more engaged and actively participated than
students from non-treatment classrooms.