Thailand's Human Capital Development Guidelines for Sustainable Economic Growth

Abstract

The objectives of this paper are 1) to explore the current situation of human capital in Thailand and 2) to suggest guidelines for developing Thai human capital for sustainable economic growth by studying research documents both in Thailand and abroad. It was found that human capital in Thailand faces three main challenges: 1) becoming an aging society; 2) problems with the quality of education and access to education among underprivileged youths; and 3) problems with lack of skilled labor and inadequate skills to meet the demands of the labor market. The authors therefore propose three approaches to human capital development in Thailand as follows: 1) to encourage a quality increase in fertility rates; 2) government-sponsored budgets to increase access and improve education quality; and 3) to develop labor skills and promote lifelong learning in both the public and private sectors