11 Thai Companies Make Forbes Asia 'Best Under a Billion' List

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Loy Krathong Festival of Lights With a history dating back more than 700 years, Loy Krathong remains one of Thailand’s best loved festivals A lso known as the “festival of lights”, Loy Krathong, is one of Thailand’s most enduring festivals a colorful celebration of lotus blossoms, heady incense and candlelight that pays homage to the river Goddess Mae Khong Ka and the surplus waters of the season’s rejuvenating rains. Celebrated on a full moon in mid-November, families leave their homes in the cool of the evening to visit local waterways, ponds and lakes, where homemade krathongs or those purchased from entrepreneurial street vendors are set afloat like so many tiny boats. Loy means “to float” while krathong means a “banana leaf vessel” that resembles an open lotus bloom. These beautifully candle-lit krathongs are believed to carry away all the bad luck and misfortunes of the year gone by. Traditionally krathongs are made from the trunk of a banana tree and then decorated with banana leaves and intricate floral designs. Popular blooms considered to bring fortune and good luck include lotus buds (bua), yellow chrysanthemum (dao ruang), roses (dok kulab) and globe amaranths (baan mai rue roy). Today Loy Kratong remains ever popular, despite the fact that many other traditions have fallen by the wayside. Thailand’s rivers, canals and other waterways are still important sources of food and income for many poor and rural communities, and so Loy Krathong has endured as a celebration of this communal life. At night, families, children and adoring couples carry their krathongs containing candles, incense sticks, locks of hair and coins down to their preferred water ways and launch them with a wish. C Tourism Authority of Thailand In Bangkok, C Tourism Authority of Thailand the Chaophraya River is brought to life by thousands of flickering candles as krathongs bob around the piers and riverbanks. Traditional Thai dress can also be seen as many Loy Krathong revelers get into the festive spirit and don the costumes of their ancestors. The evening’s highlights include a flotilla of colorfully decorated barges. Beauty queen contests are also held all over the country to commemorate the legendary Lady Noppamas, the chief royal consort of King Ramkamhaeng who reigned in Sukhothai in the 13th century. She is believed to have introduced the king to the practice of creating a krathong, and the story goes that the king was so impressed, he proclaimed Loy Krathong an annual celebration. This year’s festivities in Bangkok (Nov 13-16) will include an illuminated flotilla of barges passing along the Chaophraya River from Rama VIII bridge to Taksin bridge. Visitors to Bangkok can also watch events unfurl from river hotels and restaurants which traditionally provide Loy Krathong evenings to customers and guests wishing to take part in the festival. This year Loy Kratong falls on November 16. — By Alisa Kukarja 8
www.vec.go.th OVEC Launches New Approach To Vocational Education Veerasak Wongsombut, secretary general of the Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), told Investment Review Thai vocational graduates are ready to serve private sector investors. By adopting a new strategic approach to vocational education, Veerasak is confident that Thai skilled labor will be able to support the country’s national economic agenda. IR: Can you explain the different types and levels of vocational programs available in Thailand? Veerasak: Our vocational programs range from subjectspecific technical education and training for skilled and semi-skilled workers to management training for supervisory-level technicians. We also conduct R&D training for technologically-advanced students. Since 2004, Thai students have produced over 2,000 inventions. There are currently over 800 public and private vocational schools in Thailand covering a wide range of subjects. More than half of our students are enrolled in the industrial program, which is divided into areas including machinery, automotives, metals, electronics, mechatronics, printing, ship building, petrochemicals and telecommunications. (Other educational programs include arts, business and commerce, home economics, tourism, ICT, textile; agriculture and fisheries). IR: What changes are afoot in Thai vocational education? Veerasak: To increase our students’ employability, we are adding more non-technical subjects into our curriculum including foreign languages, communications, management and information technology. In conjunction with the Kenan Institute Asia, we have also initiated an ‘Incubation’ project to provide our students with entrepreneurial skills and experience. Students will be trained on how to develop their business plans and set up their own businesses under the close guidance of consultant teams free of charge. These business management skills are vital to help them better understand and meet the needs of their potential employers. IR: What is being done to bridge the gap between workforce supply and economic and industrial demands? Veerasak: OVEC works closely with the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) and the Ministry of Industry to identify priority industrial sectors and estimate the human resource demands in each sector over the next four years. Our curricula are then developed and adjusted in line with needs of the sectors. We are also working in conjunction with the private sector. For example, Honda and Toyota have collaborated with our technical schools in Ayuthaya and Samutprakarn to design training programs as well as provide internship opportunities for students in the automotive field. Platinum, a motorcycle parts and components manufacturer, works with OVEC to research and develop new components for its motorcycle assembly. Our students are now able to research, develop and manufacture components to supply directly to Platinum. We have already signed MOUs with nearly 10,000 private companies in various sectors to share information and collaborate in vocational training. From October 20-27, OVEC held a seminar that brought together over 2,000 business and vocational institutions to brainstorm strategies and frameworks for vocational education in the 13 target industrial sectors. IR: What is the standard of Thai vocational education compared with international curricula? Veerasak: Thai vocational education is adopting the VQ (Vocational Qualification) system, which is used by many developed countries such as the UK, Australia, and France. VQ is our guideline for curriculum development, examination and evaluation for all programs relating to the target sectors. With this system in place, along close links to the demand side, I believe that the Thai workforce will be fully capable to serve current and future investments across sectors. Thai vocational students are persistent and dedicated learners. The skills they acquire now are practical and relevant to the needs of the industry, so foreign companies can be confident that they will find the right skills in Thailand, thus adding value to their products and services. Arts, 10,387 1.7% Commerce and Business, 213,783 35.2% Enrollment in OVEC Programs (2005) Textile, Tourism, 666 12,041 0.5% 2% Agriculture, 28,456 4.7% Fisheries, 2,796 0.5% ICT, Home Economics, 2,691 19,942 0.4% 3.3% Industry, 316,428 52.0% Source: OVEC, 2005 9
Page 1 and 2: E 11 Thai Companies Make Forbes Asi
Page 3 and 4: Western Digital Investing for the F
Page 5 and 6: Augsburg AG Supporting environmenta
Page 7: pledged their commitment to joining
Page 11: Thai-China Joint Committee Meeting

11 Thai Companies Make Forbes Asia 'Best Under a Billion' List

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?