Phuket is undergoing an employment crisis with many more jobs available than applicants at this time. Hotels and service industry, as well as the aviation industry, are desperate for employees as tourism starts building up again.
As travellers continue to flock to Phuket, tourism businesses are struggling to cope with a significant labour shortage, a legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic. With many of the island’s workforce having left Phuket during the Covid shutdown, businesses are finding themselves short of workers.
One solution, according to the Ministry of Labour, is to offer part-time work to the country’s third-level students. Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin says his ministry is arranging part-time jobs for students, in an effort to address the current crisis in Phuket’s tourism sector.
According to a Bangkok Post report, data from the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, Phuket Tourist Association, and Tourist Industry Council of Phuket shows that 405 hotels and other tourism-related businesses in the province have 8,772 vacancies between them.
The Labour Ministry is now working with Phang Nga Community College, offering students the opportunity to work part-time in Phuket and help tourism businesses during the very busy peak season. The ministry will hold a jobs fair on December 27 at Central Phuket’s Public House, where more information will be provided on the different jobs on offer.
In addition, Suchart says the ministry’s employment office in Phuket will provide more information on Facebook and the LINE app and the same information will be shared with recruitment agencies on the island.
Meanwhile, the director-general of the Employment Department says his office is encouraging businesses to offer more job opportunities to the elderly and to include perks such as accommodation and bonuses, in order to attract applicants from outside Phuket.
Pairote Chotikasathien adds that Phuket is popular with employees, as, along with Chon Buri and Rayong, it offers the highest provincial daily minimum wage, at 354 baht. He says interested jobseekers can search for employment, whether in Phuket or elsewhere, on his department’s website or through the ไทยมีงานทำ app.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
