100,000 Thai Workers to be Sent Abroad This Year

The Ministry of Labour aims to send 100,000 Thai laborers overseas this fiscal year, with the latest batch had left for Israel on Thursday.
The coronavirus hit Thai labor exports by a whopping 71% from March to December last year compared with figures for the same period in 2019, when 94,994 Thais landed jobs overseas. Amid relaxed travel restrictions, labor export firms and relevant agencies have attended a discussion hosted by the Ministry of Labor to ensure that Thai workers gain the most benefits from working abroad.
Labor Minister Suchart Chomklin said the COVID-19 situation had forced many nations to curb international travel, including delaying entry for foreign workers.
The latest batch of 210 Thais flew to Israel yesterday on the Thailand-Israel Cooperation on the Placement of Workers (TIC) program.
Mr. Suchart said the labor export target was divided into two groups.
About 89,000 people were sent overseas by brokers or Thai employers for temporary jobs or training programs, while the Labour Ministry found work for others in countries that signed labor export agreements with Thailand. “The Covid-19 crisis has gripped the world and it has continued to depress the labour export volume since the onset of the pandemic in March last year,” the minister said.
Mr Suchart said the DoE had secured work for Thais in various countries, particular in the farm sector.
DoE director-general Suchat Pornchaiwiseskul released labour export figures which confirmed a virus-induced nosedive last year.
A further 11,000 people secured jobs in South Korea, Japan, Israel, and Taiwan after employers in those countries arranged for the Department of Employment (DoE) to recruit the workers and send them to work there.
The Department of Employment has previously worked to expand the market for Thai workers abroad. Additional labor cooperation agreements have also been enacted with several countries such as Saudi Arabia, with demand generally high for skilled construction and tourism workers.
For the Japanese market, the demand is particularly high for office housekeepers while Australia is seeking more farmhands and the UAE requires construction, services, and spa workers.