Abstract:
This research aimed to study (1) Lao PDRs employment models of skilled laborers from ASEAN countries in four professions: engineers, architects, surveyors and accountants, (2) needs and (3) preparation process for workers of these professions to work in Laos PDR. Mixed methodology was utilized in this research. In-depth interviews were performed until the data were saturated. In addition, there was evaluation of the capability of the final year Thai undergraduates prepared for these 4 professions, namely engineers, architects, surveyors and accountants. The results of the study showed that the interviewed entrepreneurs agreed that there was a real labor shortage in Lao PDR. The most deprived professions consisted of engineers, architects, surveyors and accountants. To the demand for Thai workers to work in Lao PDR, the entrepreneurs agreed that they certainly needed Thai skilled laborers. Thai laborers were required by entrepreneurs in Lao PDR. The basic qualifications which Lao PDR entrepreneurs put into consideration were educational level, educational qualification, working experiences, training experiences, language skills, information technology skills, and teamwork skills. The entrepreneurs in Lao PDR were also interviewed what the life quality of these 4 professions, namely engineers, architects, surveyors, and accountants was like if Thai laborers were recruited to work in Lao PDR. To promote Thai skilled-laborers in all 4 professions, the researcher conducted a survey on the capability of the final year students in tertiary education in order to use the data for market preparation of skilled-laborers in the future. Moreover, the study was to survey the expectations of work life quality of the four professions in Lao PDR. When hypotheses were tested, all aspects of the life quality in the work of the four professions were differently expected at statistical significance level at .05 (p<.05) and the researcher also analyzed the capability which affected the work life quality of each profession so that Lao PDR would allocate the work life quality desired by each professional field. For Thai government, it was possible to promote each professional workforce to have the capability to work in organizations with expected work life quality in the future.