Thai employment market at a standstill
Nina Suebsukcharoen interviews
Satinee Mokaves of JobDB.com
By Jon Fernquest |
In today's Bangkok Post business section, reporter Nina Suebsukcharoen interviews Satinee Mokaves, general manager of the online job recruitment website JobDB.com.
The topic is the current state of the Thai job market, the kinds of job candidates that companies are hiring, who they are not hiring, the problems when young people move too quickly up the corporate ladder, the need for specialised hands-on vocational training even if you have a university degree, the higher value of a masters degree after gaining some work experience...
(Photo on right is an overhead shot of people at a job fair looking for employment)
Here is the article in full:
EMPLOYMENT
Job market quiet amid political drift
NINA SUEBSUKCHAROENWednesday June 25, 2008
The Thai employment market is at a standstill with most companies focusing on maintaining their current staffing levels while they wait for the turbulent political air to clear, says Satinee Mokaves, general manager of the online recruitment site www.jobsDB.com. Given the difficulty of creating plans even to the year-end, most companies are making weekly assessments, she said. "If we look at the strategy of most companies, let's say they are on red alert, they are not thinking long-term ... just thinking in terms of surviving right now."
Most large companies cut back their staffing levels long before this round of demonstrations began and are now focusing on adjusting cost-of-living allowances for the remaining workforce. Ms Satinee noted that the layoffs that have taken took place over the past 18 to 24 months have chiefly been at the labour level, such as those by big textile companies facing difficulty.
"This is not about layoffs through downsizing or losing workers to other companies because they are not competing very much for workers ... but they have to maintain their work force. If not they run into new hiring costs.
"The situation has been bad for a long time, actually we are starting to get used to it because it began much earlier from when the coup took place (on Sept 19, 2006). Everyone is adopting a wait-and-see attitude; therefore this is specifically about politics, uncertainty about investing in this country, but lately this has linked up with the global economy. Thailand faces several issues, for instance political problems, lack of confidence in investing, and a higher cost of living."
Lately those people who have quit their jobs are mostly in mid- to low-level positions. Many moved on because they lived far from their workplaces and the high cost of living made it difficult for them to continue.
As most large companies are only hiring new employees to replace those who have retired and not in order to expand business, this makes it difficult for job-seekers. "Mostly young people get in, there is not much movement at the mid-level."
However Ms Satinee says there are jobs available in small and medium enterprises for those who find such positions to their liking.
Despite the stillness in the market, recruitment firms such as JobsDB.com are doing well because it is when the economy is shaky that more people search for jobs. "JobsDB.com was started 10 years ago in 1997 during the economic meltdown, that's when people searched the website a lot," said Ms Satinee.
Even as companies are generally focusing on raising cost-of-living allowances and not increasing salaries, workers too are not demanding pay rises. This contrasts with boom times when employees expect regular increases and hop from job to job, often for salaries much higher than their actual skills.
The challenging job market has led to students becoming more adaptive. Ms Satinee notes that over the past three to four years many have taken specialist training, for example in tourism, hotel work or cooking, making it easier for them to get employment.
"Today when companies decide to hire they take on those who have in-depth knowledge, special knowledge. Majoring in political science or social studies is a bit difficult because these fields are too broad."
It is better, she says, for a fresh graduate to look for a job right after obtaining a bachelor's degree than doing so after completing a master's because by then they would be older but still without work experience. The fact is, not a lot of companies have the budget or time to train people. "Businesses have high expectations from their candidates and when you enter you have to adapt very quickly and start producing."
Some Thais are seeking work overseas, mainly in IT, but they trail Indians who have better knowledge and do not seek very high wages. At the executive level it is more competitive; some Thais even earn more than their expat counterparts.
However, Ms Satinee does see some problematic issues at the executive level, with some companies having rapidly promoted a lot of young employees when the economy boomed. "They might have the knowledge but they lack managerial skills and the maturity in various ways to manage a team."
These young senior executives who have risen fast now face difficulty rising any further because they lack the combination of ability, knowledge and experience required.
Some companies are also promoting younger people in order to reach the younger market. However, Ms Satinee believes such shortcuts may not work out in the longer term, because these younger people may take promotion for granted without putting in the necessary study and work to advance.
Vocabulary:
job candidates - people who are applying for a job, one of whom will be selected
the corporate ladder - the different levels of employee in a large corporation, that it takes time and hard effort to climb through with promotions
hands-on - practical, not just theory and ideas, how to do stuff, often with your hands, like how to serve people in a restaurant and take their order
vocational - training and skills needed for a job
specialised hands-on vocational training - practical training on skills needed for a job
at a standstill - no movement or activity
employment market is at a standstill - no companies are currently hiring employees
focusing on Y - dealing only with issue Y (and not a lot of other possible distracting things)
maintaining their current staffing levels - keeping the same number of employees that they have now, not hiring any new employees
wait for the turbulent political air to clear - waiting for the protests and political unrest to end
making weekly assessments - look at and analyze the situation at the end of every week, and deciding whether conditions have changed
on red alert - a warning has been given that something bad is likely to happen, so you get ready to deal with it
thinking in terms of surviving - just want to make enough money to feed, clothe, and provide shelter for your family right now, not planning for the future
cut back their staffing levels - reduce the number of employees at the company
the cost-of-living - the amount of money spent daily by people for essentials such as food, transportation, housing, clothing, the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living (See Wikipedia)
Cost-Of-Living Allowances (COLA) - an addition to an employee's salary to help meet increased cost of living (Read article)
adjusting cost-of-living allowances (COLAs) - increase COLAs to keep up with inflation
workforce - the group of people working for a company or in an economy
layoffs - when people no longer have a job in a company because the company is not making money and there is no work for them
at the labour level - at the level of hourly or daily wage-earning labour, like factory workers, and other low-level employees who are paid a hourly or daily wage instead of a monthly salary
a salary - the amount of money that an employee receives per month for their labour
a wage - the amount of money that an employee receives per hour for their labour
downsizing - reducing the number of workers and employees at a company
losing workers to other companies - workers move to another company where they get a better salary and job
get used to it - are familiar and know about it, because you have experienced it, or done it, several times before
adopting a wait-and-see attitude - waiting to see how events develop before making any big decisions
lack of confidence - unsure of your own abilities, qualities, or ideas
moved on - changed employers, changed the company they work for
not much movement at the mid-level - people are not changing jobs (promotion, new employer) at the middle management level
an economic meltdown - when the whole economy collapses, business slows down completely, and many people do not have a job or an income
hop from job to job - change jobs a lot (in hope of getting a better, more promising job)
becoming more adaptive - can change more easily, when conditions or the situation changes
in-depth - looking at the details of a subject or topic
in-depth knowledge - detailed knowledge of a subject or topic
a field - a subject of study and specialised knowledge
fields are too broad - the field of specialised knowledge is too big, without enough specialised knowledge that can be applied in specific jobs and kinds of work
work experience - the number of years you have done some kind of specialised work
an executive - a high level manager in a company
at the executive level - at the level of higher management in a company
expat, expatriate - a person living and/or working outside of their country for a long period of time
expat counterparts - people who have the same job but are foreigners (not citizens of Thailand)
maturity - the state of being a fully developed and experienced adult (not a child or young person still learning, without experience)
shortcuts - a quicker way of going somewhere or doing something
take promotion for granted - just assume that they will continue to be promoted as they were in the past (may not be true)
