Thailand Tackles Labor Shortage With Skills Training

Industry Minister Veerapath Silpaarch addressed an academic seminar on declining birth rates and quality concerns, organized by the Office of the Parliamentary Secretary. Parliament President Sopon Saramee opened the event, joined by Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Wongsuwan, Health Minister Pattana Phromphetch, Social Development Minister Nikhom Somklaeng, and senior executives including Supachai Chearwanont from the Charoen Pokphand Group.

Veerapath stressed that population structure change directly impacts labor supply, industrial output, and national competitiveness. The manufacturing sector remains a crucial employment base, yet the pool of young workers entering the job market is shrinking rapidly. National Statistical Office data showed that in the second quarter of 2025, Thailand had approximately 38.51 million employed persons, with 6.39 million in manufacturing—about 16 percent of total employment. Birth registrations plummeted from 736,352 in 2015 to 462,240 in 2024, a decline of roughly 37 percent in nine years, intensifying labor shortages in manufacturing, especially labor-intensive industries and small-to-medium enterprises.

Veerapath noted that the real concern is not merely insufficient workers, but a skills mismatch. As factories shift toward automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, and digital systems, the Industry Ministry prioritizes smart manufacturing development and training in automation, robotics, and specialized expertise to upgrade existing workers' capabilities for emerging technologies.

"If we fail to accelerate skills development as fewer young workers enter the system, quality labor shortages will severely limit Thailand's advancement toward high-value industry," Veerapath cautioned.

He also called on manufacturers to redesign workplaces as environments where employees can work, build careers, and support families simultaneously. Factories should introduce flexible scheduling, advance notice of work assignments, shift-swapping opportunities, and support for pregnant workers and new parents. Rather than each factory establishing its own childcare center, industrial zones and factory groups could develop shared childcare services coordinated with relevant agencies.

Veerapath acknowledged that even if Thailand boosts birth rates, newborns require nearly 20 years to reach working age. Over the next 10-20 years, the working-age population will likely continue declining. The industrial solution, therefore, must shift from seeking more workers to asking: "How can one worker create significantly higher value?"