Vocational Education in Thailand: Its Evolution, Strengths, Limitations, and Blueprint for the Future

Abstract

This chapter presents the context and evolution of vocational education in Thailand and the authors’ insights into the Thai vocational education system in terms of its strengths and limitations. It utilizes both SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) and PEST (political factors, economic factors, sociocultural factors, and technological factors) analysis frameworks. The chapter demonstrates how the Thai vocational education system, which currently reflects the metaphors of “impossible dream” and “a tale of two cities,” can perform better in order to serve as a key engine bringing Thailand toward prosperity under the Thai government’s slogan “vocational education for nation building.”.