BANGKOK, March 11, 2008 – To meet emerging social and economic challenges, Thailand needs to establish a clear and coherent youth development strategy as well as encourage young people to contribute to youth policies, a new World Bank report said.
With a smaller population of young people today than in the past, this issue deserves immediate attention, according to Thailand Social Monitor on Youth: Development and the Next Generation, the new World Bank report on the country’s youth affairs and challenges. Over the last decade, delayed marriages and lower birth rates have led to a steady decline in growth of the youth population in Thailand. As a result, the country’s younger labor force today is smaller than during the three decades of rapid growth up to the late 1990s. “Thailand is going to face a shortage of youth labor force in the next 10 years, while competition in labor-intensive industries from neighboring countries is expected to become even more intense,” said Ian Porter, the World Bank Country Director for Thailand. “To stay competitive, the Thai Government will have to focus more on enhancing the quality, the knowledge, and the skills of its young labor force. This requires a well coordinated youth development policy and a lot of thinking from a youth perspective.” Despite a few brief interruptions, Thailand’s social and economic development over the past three decades would be envied by many poor countries. Its rapid economic growth has been accompanied by tremendous improvements in important social indicators, including life expectancy, mother as well as child mortality rates, literacy, and school enrollment. With Rapid Social & Economic Change, Come New Challenges 
| | Young people today are to become workers, citizens, and parents tomorrow. The Government must invest in them now to help them maximize their potential, recommended the Thailand Social Monitor 2008 |
According to the Social Monitor, Thai youths are facing different health risks now than in past decades, thanks to the changing lifestyles and habits. Many studies showed that drinking, smoking, and drug abuse have been rising among people of ages 15-24. In addition, the number of overweight children and young people in Thailand is on the rise due to lack of exercise and unhealthy dietary habits. Furthermore, young people are starting to have sex at an earlier age while only a small percentage of them report using condoms or female contraceptives. As a result, early pregnancies are becoming more prevalent, and HIV/AIDS infection rates among Thai youth are relatively high. Recent estimates suggested that people of ages 15-24 account for half of new HIV cases in Thailand each year, the Social Monitor reported. And, while more and more youths enroll in universities today, a large percentage of them may still face unemployment after graduating. This is because the skills demanded by current industries do not match what they learned in school. Constraint to Thailand’s Competitiveness
Despite notable success in providing education to the wider population, Thailand is still facing challenges stemming from poor quality of education, high dropout rates, and low student achievement levels. Recent World Bank surveys also show that shortages of skilled workers, especially those with language and technology skills, are a common complaint among Thai industries. As a result, filling a vacancy for a skilled production worker or a professional in Thailand can take up to six weeks, the Social Monitorfound. “This issue has become a real constraint to Thailand’s competitiveness,” said Luis Benveniste, the coordinator of the World Bank’s human development work in Thailand, who led the team that prepared the Social Monitor. “During our study, we also found that youth unemployment is a major concern here. This implies that the Government has to look more closely at its youth employment policy and perhaps place more emphasis on education for employment.” 
| | Having a say! A high school student raising his voice during the launch of the Thailand Social Monitor, March 11, 2008 |
The Thai youth of today will provide the next generation of workers, parents and citizens. Thus, a concerted strategy for youth development is key to the long term economic and social development of the nation. It is also critical to involve youth in the design of policy to make the programs effective, the Social Monitor recommended. “We do have a national youth development agenda, but having the agenda does not guarantee that the problems will be solved,” said Kanda Vajrabhaya, the Deputy Permanent-Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, one of the four ministries responsible for youth development. “I really think that strengthening coordination between different government agencies can help us achieve better results than we did in the past. We have to start recognizing that youth issues are so complex and involve so many stakeholders. It is a mistake to think that one single agency can address them all.”
Contacts:
Achariya Kohtbantau
Human Development Program Specialist
Tel. (66-2) 686-8347
Email: akohtbantau@worldbank.org Pichaya Fitts
Senior Communications Officer
Tel. (66-8) 4752-1783
Email: pfitts@worldbank.org
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