Essential Skills for Youth in the Workforce of the 21st Century: A Case Study of Southern Thailand
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Abstract
The objectives of this study were to explore essential skills development needs for youth in the south of Thailand for the workforce in the 21st century and to compare essential skills for youth in the workforce of the 21st century and employers’ needs. The study was used a mixed method and multilevel sampling design with the aid of questionnaires and interviews. In this qualitative study, data were gathering from 60 key informants consisting of 10 employers, 18 teachers and 32 leading students. Data was analyzed using typological analysis. Regarding the quantitative aspect of this study, data were gathering from 1,902 subjects consisting of 400 employers, 800 high school students and 702 first year university students. Data was analyzed using means, standard deviation and one-way ANOVA. The results indicated that five of students’ 21st century work skills – communication, digital literacy, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration – were at a moderate level, with creativity scoring the lowest average. Whereas, the mean levels of self-assessment by the first year university students were at a high level in all types of skills with critical thinking scoring the lowest average. However, when compared with the mean levels of needs by the employers, it was found that the mean levels of self-assessment by high school students and the first year university students were lower than the mean levels of needs by the employers in four types of skills; communication, digital literacy, critical thinking, and creativity at the statistical significant level of .001. Accordingly, these four type of skills are the essential skills that should be preparing and enhancing for youth during the high school level. Therefore, organizations responsible for educational management should attach importance to these skills and include them in the core curriculum to prepare students to be ready for the workforce in the 21st century.
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