Huawei Drives Forward Education in Thailand with the "Digital Bus" Project, Enhancing the Digital Skills of Thai Workers in Phetchabun

Mr. Arkom Khummu, Director of the Phetchabun Skill Development Office, commented on the "Digital Bus" project: "The project was initiated from the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on digital technology skills development for the Thai workforce under the supervision of the Minister of Labour, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, and the partnership between the Department of Skill Development and Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd. The goal is to equip Thai workers with digital skills and build a quality workforce to meet the needs of future digital markets. Mr. Prateep Songlamyong, Skill Development's Director-General, has undertaken the policy and appointed the Phetchabun Skill Development Office to partner with Huawei. Under the partnership, the 'Digital Bus' will be utilized to train and develop the skills of 100 workers in Phetchabun province to prepare them for digitalization and to meet the needs of the workforce market. This will also serve as a way of upskilling members of the workforce lacking digital skills competency, thereby supporting the growth of the economy in the future and for Thailand 4.0."

Mr. Khummu added that Thailand is still facing education inequality challenges with regards to digital skills, especially in remote areas. For Phetchabun province in particular, the focus is primarily on bridging knowledge gaps for people in remote areas. Digital technology competency will reportedly be a key factor in the daily and professional lives of the Thai workforce and so it is important that these skills are learned sooner than later. At its core, the idea is to build Thailand's readiness to tackle the coming era of digital transformation.

Through the "Digital Bus" project, Huawei will cover topics regarding intelligent technologies and deliver corresponding training sessions. It is anticipated that local workforces will then be able to adapt and utilize the knowledge from these sessions and apply them to their professions both now and in the future.

In the first half of 2022, Huawei piloted the "Digital Bus" project in 6 provinces. The initial phase targeted 1,500 students across 14 primary schools in Sing Buri, Songkhla, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Chachoengsao, and Nakhon Ratchasima provinces. For the second half of 2022, Huawei Thailand expanded the target groups to skilled workers, both in formal and informal employment, which also includes volunteer groups through the support of the Skill Development Department, the Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of Public Health.

Huawei Thailand is committed to driving equal opportunity and the quality of Thailand's education through digital technologies. This year, Huawei also hosted the "Spark Ignite 2022 - Thailand Start-up Competition" in August. The goal of the competition was to enhance the growth of Thai start-ups to regional levels and support the digital workforce in Thailand through financial support, marketing strategies, trainings, consultation, and business networking. Huawei also launched the Asia-Pacific "Seeds for the Future" initiative and the "Tech4Good" campaign in Thailand to provide Thai students with basic digital knowledge on advanced technologies, including 5G and Cloud, and provide them with alternative courses to help them better understand ICT trends and applications, as well as to build their leadership and collaboration skills.