Bachelor Blues

Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post

Many entrepreneurs have refused to employ bachelor’s degree graduates to avoid paying a starting monthly salary of 15,000 baht as required by the newly-revised labour laws.

Reading the following story from the Bangkok Post to learn about how the new laws are affecting employment opportunities for new graduates.

In late March, a seminar on local employment was organised by the International Labour Organisation and Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Economics. Attended by various academics and labour-related specialists, the seminar aimed to facilitate discussions about the recent problematic issues of local unemployment.

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CHEAPER CHOICE

Worachon Dulwit, secretary-general of the International Student Centre of Thailand, said many employers were reluctant to employ new graduates with a bachelor’s degree in order to cut personnel costs. Worachon further explained that local entrepreneurs have opted to hire diploma holders instead of bachelor’s degree holders, mainly because they do not want to pay the 15,000 baht monthly starting salary as promised by the Pheu Thai-led government during its election campaign last year.

DEGREE DILEMMA

Secretary-general of the Employer’s Confederation of Thailand Siriwan Romchatthong said graduates in fields such as engineering, accountancy or medical sciences were more likely to be employed than those who studied in more unpopular fields such as social sciences.

For graduates in these popular professional fields, employers are more willing to pay the 15,000 baht starting salary, according to Siriwan. However, Siriwan added that when it comes to graduates from other fields, many employers prefer to hire those with educational qualifications lower than a bachelor’s degree, so that they can pay lower wages.

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EXCERISES

Write down the noun forms of the following words used in the story.

1. Educational
2. Willing
3. Problematic
4. Reluctant