Blogs on Teaching and Living in Thailand

The definition of a supply chain is ‘the sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a commodity’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary).

Recently, I had a conversation with a Thai national in one of the northern (rural) provinces.  I noted my difficulty with getting a laptop repaired.  This businesswoman lamented about the availability of parts and supplies outside of big cities, e.g., Chiang Mai, Bangkok.  In fact, even local ‘mom and pop’ repair and parts replacement shops are very dependent on the reliability of regional, national and global supply chains.  To be sure, many store owners have difficulty remaining in business due to tricky and unpredictable behaviors in the parts resupply market, including aftermarket.

So what about the human supply chain, i.e., Thailand’s requirement for high quality teachers, especially, instructors of English as an additional language?  And how does it get there? 

Here are a few suggestions:

(1) schools need access to an uninterrupted and trustworthy supply of trained faculty from overseas who are free to come and go.  Professor Peter Cappelli of the Wharton School contends that “a strategy of asking questions about human capital requirements that borrows from the questions supply chain managers typically ask, such as ‘do we have the right parts in stock?’ or ‘Do we know where to get these parts when we need them?’ and ‘Does it cost a lot of money to carry inventory?’ (HROtoday.com, ‘The Human Supply Chain’ by Russ Banham, 2012).  This issue has been put to a great test during the ongoing Covid pandemic crisis.

(2) Thailand has to maintain high standards of conduct by agents, employers, and teachers.  All parties should treat the hiring and retention process, sic, the labor pool with respect.  Also, the consumer (pupil) shall achieve outcomes and results as measured against international standards.

(3) There must be close supervision of ‘umbrella’ companies and organizations that tend to overstep their mandate and interfere with government duties.  In fact, when oversight and management gets too far afield from local school supervisors or department heads it leads to significantly reduced accountability on all fronts and adversely impacts the quality of instruction.

(4) One unavoidable issue is appropriate remuneration of faculty.  Are government funds sufficient to pay foreign teachers in all provinces?  Are salaries and benefits consistent with local needs?  And are emoluments consistent with other government agency demands, e.g., immigration’s minimum income requirement for foreigners based on nationality?  Also, are funds actually getting to the contracted educators and is excessive skimming by ‘middle men,’ agents kept to a minimum?

Ultimately, it’s up to the citizens of Thailand to ensure that its nation’s future generations are adequately educated and trained.

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Blog by Outdated Muse

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Note that the author of the blog is expressing personal thoughts and musings, which do not necessarily reflect those of KruTeacher. Therefore, KruTeacher.com cannot be held responsible for any potential inaccuracies that may be present in the blog.