Thai graduates need adaptability alongside AI skills, education and business leaders say

Thailand needs graduates who can adapt, think critically and keep learning, rather than an education system that tries to keep pace with artificial intelligence by continually adding technical skills, senior education and business figures said at a Bangkok policy forum.

Speaking at Nation Forum 2027: Thailand’s Agenda on 20 October 2026, higher education permanent secretary Supachai Pathumnakul called for more practical learning and closer links between universities and employers, according to The Nation’s account of the event. Industry representatives warned that large investment totals no longer necessarily translate into large numbers of jobs.

The discussions brought together two challenges: preparing graduates for rapidly changing work and helping businesses reorganise around technology while Thailand’s working-age population shrinks.

Practical learning and more flexible degrees

Supachai, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, said a four-year curriculum could hardly keep up with technology that changes within a year. Rather than attempting to predict every technical skill employers would need, universities should prioritise adaptability and a growth mindset, including entrepreneurial thinking.

Internships, projects and problem-based study were essential to developing those qualities, he said. Of Thailand’s roughly 10,000 university programmes, about half now incorporated experiential learning, compared with 30–40 per cent in a survey two years earlier. The ministry wants that share to approach 100 per cent.

Supachai said the ministry had removed minimum and maximum study periods for bachelor’s degrees. Universities could therefore offer three-year or even two-year programmes, provided students met the required credits and learning outcomes. This flexibility does not mean all degrees will become shorter.

He also said students could earn general-education credits through online courses offered by companies such as Microsoft and the stock market’s education arm.

For students outside science, technology, engineering and mathematics, his proposed response was additional AI and digital training. He argued that combining those tools with non-STEM graduates’ creativity could help them generate greater value.

Investment brings a different mix of jobs

Kriengkrai Thiennukul, honorary chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said technology was advancing faster than industry could absorb it, while labour-intensive manufacturing was declining.

Citing Board of Investment figures, he put investment applications in the first half of 2026 at a record 1.47 trillion baht. Digital businesses and data centres accounted for 1.115 trillion baht, or about 76 per cent, he said.

However, Kriengkrai said data centres employed only about five people for every billion baht invested, compared with 400–500 in older industries. His comparison highlighted why attracting capital alone would not resolve Thailand’s employment and skills challenges.

He called for government, industry and academia to produce a three-to-five-year workforce roadmap identifying the numbers and types of workers required. Employers should help design and teach courses, host students in factories and offer contracts to those who qualify, he said.

Vocational training was another priority. Supachai said the electronics association THPCA had told the ministry it needed around 100,000 workers, mostly vocational graduates. The ministry plans printed circuit board training centres at about ten vocational colleges, alongside instructor training and reskilling for existing workers.

For students and workers considering training, the discussion identified practical experience, digital skills and vocational electronics as areas of emphasis. The proposed centres remain plans rather than an announced nationwide programme open for enrolment.

Employers urged to rethink work, not just buy AI

Business speakers also argued that acquiring AI tools was not enough. MFEC co-founder and president Siriwat Vongjarukorn said companies needed to redesign jobs, processes and workflows, and recruit for thinking ability rather than knowledge alone. Curiosity was his priority skill.

Vathit Chokwatana, president and executive director of Saha Pathanapibul, said AI allowed more work to be done with fewer people, but the company did not plan to cut staff. Employees still needed sufficient knowledge to challenge AI’s output, he said, while entrepreneurship and a sense of ownership remained vital.

Charoen Pokphand Group executive Teerapon Tanomsakyut said repetitive tasks would disappear, some jobs would change and new work would emerge. He urged Thailand to build an environment that retained local talent and attracted skilled foreigners.

The common message was that AI training should accompany, not replace, practical experience and human judgement. Turning that approach into a stronger workforce will require changes in workplaces as well as classrooms.