Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd., in partnership with Global Compact Network Thailand (GCNT) and partners from various government agencies, co-organized the Thailand Talent Talk Episode 3: ‘Fostering Digital Talent Capacity to Boost SME and Startup Growth’. The project aims to drive ICT personnel development among SMEs and startups in Thailand, which is one of the key post-covid economic drivers
Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd., in partnership with Global Compact Network Thailand (GCNT) and partners from various government agencies, co-organized the Thailand Talent Talk Episode 3: ‘Fostering Digital Talent Capacity to Boost SME and Startup Growth’.
The project aims to drive ICT personnel development among SMEs and startups in Thailand, which is one of the key post-covid economic drivers towards digital transformation. The seminar also serves to drive collaboration among industry partners, private companies, and government agencies to co-develop technology ecosystems in order to fuel long-term startup growth.
Dr. Chawapol Jariyawiroj, Managing Director of Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd., delivered a speech outlining the importance of digital talents: “New technologies will transform the digital economy and this transition will inevitably change people’s lives. Up to 45% of future jobs will be automated through digital technology. Therefore, every country, including Thailand, needs to develop digital skills to bridge the digital gap. We need to upskill Thai ICT talents to accelerate digital transformation and sustainable growth. With collaboration from the Government, industry sectors, and educational institutions, we can foster a digital talent pool to promote the rapid growth of Thai SMEs and startups. SMEs and startups around the world are growing into innovators, disruptors, and pioneers at the forefront of the latest trends and will create two-thirds of new jobs as well as drive 35-50% of the world’s GDP. As digital technology has an extremely high growth rate, it will provide countless growth opportunities for Thai SMEs. Therefore, we need more ICT personnel to meet this growing demand.”
“According to Huawei, technology is driving a change in most industries and all businesses need innovation to cope with any disruptions. Disruptive innovation allows businesses to understand customer insights and help formulate strategic approaches to match demands. As SMEs and startups are key drivers of Thailand’s digital economy, Huawei has responded by putting greater focus in the research and development of innovative connected technologies, such as cloud computing, digital power, organization networks, and consumer devices. We have also collaborated with partners in various ecosystems to develop projects that will nurture the next generation of ICT talents, including the ‘Seeds for the Future’ project, the ‘Thailand Cyber Top Talent 2022’ competition, the ASEAN Academy, the ‘Digital Bus’ project, and the upcoming Huawei ICT Competition project that will start this December,” added Dr. Chawapol.
Mr. Pariwat Wongsamran, Director of Innovative Entrepreneurship Development at The National Innovation Agency (NIA), also delivered a speech at the seminar: “Digital transformation is evolving at a rapid pace. Among the challenges arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, new and innovative business models are now gaining more popularity. These trends can clearly be seen among the growing and creative business ideas of Thai startups. Huawei is a private company that promotes global startup ecosystems with the goal of promoting the growth of startups on Huawei’s cloud platforms, giving them access to technology and financial resources, and helping them grow in the market. This will help drive digital transformation among Thai SMEs as well.”
Dr. Athip Aswanan, Director of the Digital Council of Thailand (DCT), explained further: “Currently, there are 3 million SMEs in Thailand, compared to only about 1,000 startups. The main challenges that slow down startup growth are an unclear definition between SMEs and startups, unfavorable regulations for startups, and a lack of ICT talents with advanced computer programming and English-language skills. We must start addressing IT skill gaps in order to push business growth. All parties, including the public sector, the private sector, and society must work together and set clear goals as this will have an impact on all of us.”
Mr. Wittawat Lamsam, Director of International Cooperation Department at The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), added: “Promoting SMEs consists of driving growth and developing each business sector according to their needs. We need to provide strategic marketing support for the domestic market and empower them to expand their businesses internationally. We also need to develop external environmental factors that can affect the growth of a business. At the early stages of business development, we will target younger generations, people who are interested in starting a new business, and new entrepreneurs who have started their business for less than 3 years, as well as social enterprises. We expect that younger generations, students, and those who intend to start a new business are well-equipped with knowledge and skills when they decide to become entrepreneurs. We hope that they can see opportunities for long-term business development and get access to available financial resources for the starting phase.”
Thailand Talent Talk Episode 3: ‘Fostering Digital Talent Capacity to Boost SME and Startup Growth’ started on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, at Huawei’s Customer Solution Innovation and Integration Experience Center (CSIC). The seminar will create an open forum to discuss challenges, best practices, and strategic approaches aimed at cultivating an ecosystem that is suitable to drive SMEs as well as startup development and digital economy growth. Huawei Thailand and GCNT also co-organized another recent seminar to raise awareness on cybersecurity in Thailand and a forum on ‘How to Bridge the Digital Gap’, aimed at creating a strong digital ecosystem to sustainably support Thailand while moving towards the digital age. The primary goal of the Thailand Talent Talk seminars is to help accelerate ICT talent development in Thailand.
