Private sector groups and the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology have signed on to produce highly-skilled laborers to push Thailand’s automotive parts industry to the global stage.

The Automotive Industry Club (AIC) and Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) have joined the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly research and develop new automotive parts as well as train under-graduate and graduate students to supply the automotive industry with highly-skilled personnel.

FTI Vice President Jane Namchaisiri, pointed out that Thailand has worked diligently to produce new innovations and technology for the automotive industry but has fallen short on producing personnel to handle the developments. He projects that in 5 years, the sector will require an average 12,000 highly-skilled workers a year.

Indicating that Thailand exported 500 million baht worth of auto parts last year and has maintained 5-6 percent growth in the segment for many years, Jane affirmed that it can become a center for automotive parts production. He reminded that major players such as Japan, Indonesia and the US have chosen Thai producers to supply their factories and that many major manufacturers of auto parts have chosen Thailand to base their operations.