Transforming Thailand’s TVET System: An Integrated Framework for Foundational, Digital and Green Skills, authored by Jomphong Mongkhonvanit, Yannik Mieruch, and Suguru Mizunoya, presents a rigorous and policy-relevant analysis of Thailand’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system at a pivotal moment of economic and environmental transition. Against a backdrop of an ageing population, accelerating digitalisation, growing climate pressures, and a deep foundational skills crisis — in which over 64% of Thai adults struggle with basic literacy and over 74% with basic digital tasks — the report argues that piecemeal reform is insufficient and that a comprehensive, integrated skills agenda is urgently needed. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach that combines policy analysis, secondary data synthesis from sources including PISA, ASTA, and OECD, stakeholder interviews across government, industry, and TVET institutions, and five international case studies from India, Indonesia, Kenya, Singapore, and Viet Nam, the report maps the persistent gap between Thailand’s well-designed TVET policy architecture and its uneven, fragmented delivery on the ground — evidenced by a striking 39.5% student attrition rate and a mere 33% rate of field-matched employment among Higher Vocational graduates. In response, the authors develop an integrated planning framework, grounded in the UNESCO TVET Strategy 2022–2029 and adapted to the Thai context, that organises concrete recommendations around two priority areas — building an inclusive and flexible TVET system that meets industry needs, and developing skills for inclusive and sustainable economies — supported by cross-cutting interventions on monitoring and evaluation and governance, offering a practical roadmap for policymakers and institutions seeking to close the intent-to-delivery gap in Thai TVET.
