The second annual Thai Link Job Fair was held on March 1, 1997 at Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts. We had with us H.E. Minister Chatchai Earsakul, Director General Nitasna Theeravit of Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the Ambassador representative Lt. Akrasid Amatayakul, and Honorary Consul Mr. Vernon Alden. It was our privilege to have them with us at this event.
Thai Link was established to promote and support the Reverse Brain Drain project of Thailand. Our goal is to bring Thais back home. In order to meet our goal, Thai Link has worked on various activities, such as career workshops and job fairs. This job fair is not only an event to provide career opportunities in Thailand, but it is also a place to create a mutual understanding between Thailand and Thais abroad.
This is the second year of the Reverse Brain Drain activities in Boston. The response from Thais abroad and organizations from Thailand has been very positive. This year's fair surpassed last year's goals resulting in more resumes received, more companies participating, and more candidates attending. We expect more candidates to be hired as a result of this year's fair. Seventeen companies ranging from hi-tech to business participated in the Boston job fair.
Approximately 450 professionals and students attended the fair. Six hundred ninety-nine (699) resumes were received, of which 527 candidates had job experience. There are 35 doctorate, 503 masters, and 141 bachelor degrees. Within this group, the breakdown is as follows:
Group of Specialty: +------+---------------------------------------------+ |total |translation | +------+---------------------------------------------+ |415 |BUSINESS | |68 |COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY | |131 |ENGINEERING | |6 |HEALTH | |34 |SCIENCES | |45 |SOCIAL SCIENCES | +------+---------------------------------------------+
This year we had cooperation from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, and Employers' Confederation of Thai Trade and Industry in working with the companies in Thailand. We appreciated their support. They attended the fair to encourage Thais to return to Thailand for employment. The support from Bostonian Thai community has been outstanding.
There are several hundred thousand Thais in the United States, approximately 12,000 of them are students. We hope this activity will motivate them to return home. It has been a challenge to reach all the Thai people living abroad. We hope to reach more people in the future.
Although the event was highly successful, it will be prohibitive to continue this activity without sufficient funding. The present funding for this project is limited and comes from the private sector and my personal funds. It is very difficult to continue these activities which provide recruiting opportunities to the smaller Thai companies. Our ultimate goal is to benefit organizations of all sizes in Thailand. Therefore, the Reverse Brain Drain project should be implemented by the government. Since the Reverse Brain Drain project is included in the government policy, we are requesting the funding support for the success of this project and the development of Thailand. If the government provides funding to this project, the fee charged to participating companies will be minimal or nonexistent. This will allow more companies to join the Reverse Brain Drain program. We will also be able to reach many more Thai people abroad. We are sure we can motivate Thais to return home.
Until we are able to obtain government funding, we must rely on the cooperation from the private sector for financial support. Your company's participation will help this project continue. Please join our activities.
Based on the evaluation at the fair, we would like to propose the following strategies for any company that plans to join our job fair in the future: