Core Competency: job skills for rural Thai youth

Our staff and remote volunteers are setting up the computers, surveying our target youth audience, settling the English and soft skills curriculum.  The first set of computers has been delivered and the network is in place. All moving us closer to a start date, despite COVID spikes that have closed most venues for gathering, caused school delays, and require online classes. (The computers were put to good use when we had another unexpected school shut down and all the high school students need to report in and study online.)

Meanwhile, the economy continues to slow down with no major vaccine program underway.  In our rural area, there are fewer cases, but whole villages close their gates when the threat level goes up. 

This has slowed the access to candidates to do focus groups and recruitment.  So we are looking for additional paths to our target students.  Only one subdistrict, out of 11, in our Phrao District has a program to teach small business entrepreneurship to young people out of school.   We recently met the mentor for the program through one of our college graduates, Faa, who landed a year contract as a program manager and assists with mentoring.  Their mentees fit the profile of students we are surveying to refine our program.   

The first round of surveys gives us a good range of jobs that students aspire to. It will also give us some ways to overcome the hesitancy of these students to commit and engage with an organization that has foreigners.  Our Thai staff know the communities and are helping to adapt the program.  They are reaching out to engage some of the youth in helping us to set the program.

We thank you for supporting this crucial program.  It has had to pivot and adjust as COVID throws us curves, but we are getting close and excited to get started.

Evelind, Michael, and Dana