"Doctor" overtook "Teachers" becoming Thai Kids favorite career choice
The survey completed by 2,684 Thai children aged 7 to 14 years old shows that most of the Thai kids want to become a "Doctor" as they think that working in this career allows them to help people, perform good deeds and earn a good income. The runner-up top career is "Teacher" as many of them dream to provide Thai children with the knowledge and morale to become good citizens in the future. Ranking third is "Athlete", especially a "football player" which is a favorite choice among most of the boys who have a passion for football. Soldier is ranked at fourth place. And the rising dream career that came in the fifth spot is ESports Athlete and Game Caster.
Trending careers in 2019: ESports Athlete - Gamer - Game Caster
ESports Athlete and Game Caster are the careers that Thai children are very interested in this year. The reason is that Thai kids love playing games very much, so they think these will be fun jobs that they can earn money and fame out of it. This is consistent with another result in this survey that 94% of these children enjoy watching YouTube and more than 28% like to play games and spend time on a computer. Moreover, many of them also have ESports Athletes, Gamers and Game Casters as their idols. Another interesting result is that the profession associated with computers, such as YouTuber and Programmer, are also popular careers among children this year.
“BNK48” crowned as 2019 Top idol for kids. YouTubers risen high among Top 5 list.
Same as previous years, the survey reveals that Thai children still have their parents as their idols. However, the celebrities who become their favorite idol this year is the "BNK48", a Thai girl group. Thai kids admire these girls’ for their cute appearance, singing and dancing abilities as well as their efforts. Many Thai kids see BNK48 as a good example of a strong commitment to develop themselves and to overcome obstacles in order to achieve their dreams and goals. The most favorite member of this girl group is Ms. Cherprang Areekul, the captain of BNK48 group.
@kaykai.salaiders, a famous Youtuber is their second favorite idol. They love her bright and funny characteristics and her talent in producing amusing clip videos. Moreover, she is also seen as a diligent and grateful young lady. The third favorite idol is Pang @zbingz, a delightful and well-known Game Caster. GOT7, a South Korean boy band, ranked fourth, while Thai renowned eSports Gamers, @ksdkrit or Kritsada Pimlue ranked fifith from his superiority in games playing.
"Happy Family" Most popular New Year wish for Thai kids
When asked if they could make one wish, what would they wish for? Most of these children wish for happiness in their families and have a long life together. Apart from that, they wish that they could be wealthy, meet their favorite idols, pass their exams or even better if there is no exam at all, also that they could have more wishes, including wishing Thailand peace and happiness, same as Elsa's kingdom (Disney's 2013 animated feature film, Frozen).
Child-center approach and technology adaptation, Thai kids ideas to reform education
When asked what the government should do to improve our nation's education outcomes, the survey reveals that Thai kids would like the government to focus on child-centered approach and enhance their talent according to each student’s preference and ability and concentrate on teacher development. To increase educational opportunities for Thai children, the youngsters share ideas of providing more of scholarships to the poor and enough fund for education material in rural school.
In addition, Thai children also suggest the government to use technology in teaching and learning to improve learning efficiency and get more students engaged. They also request for digital knowledge hub where knowledge won’t be limited in just textbooks. Furthermore, they would like the government to support computer-oriented knowledge and eSports. Seriously improving foreign languages learning in English and other languages - i.e. Chinese, Korean and Japanese, practicing on self-surviving lessons - i.e. swimming, training for self-defense and emergency first aid are also essential to get Thai children well prepared before entering the world of work and living their future lives.
Adecco Thailand CEO suggests developing children's skills is the key to success in the digital age
Tidarat Kanchanawat, Regional Director, Adecco Thailand & Vietnam, the Adecco Group Thailand states that "This year’s survey indicated that Thai children nowadays are truly Digital Natives. They’ve grown up surrounded by digital technology, and they use them in their daily lives. This also has been reflected through the survey results that ESports Athlete and Game Casters become top 5 careers choices and there are famous ESports Athletes and Game Casters who are Thai Children's idols."
"These children's view of career is a thought-provoking. Most of them feel that the happiest career is the career that allows them to do what they love and capable of. And they use this as the motivation in choosing their dream job. This year, we've seen that Thai children know a wide variety of careers based on their interests. We've seen numbers of new careers coming up in this survey, such as a Rapper, Paleontologist, YouTuber, Choreographer, Car Racer, Game Caster, Diver, Entrepreneur, etc.
"Furthermore, it can be noticed that Thai children these days have become more attentive in improving their skills, especially in foreign languages and technology-related skills. We should help support these skills development as they are the essential skills that will enable them to cope with future changes and challenges. Today, the world of work is changing rapidly. In the future, 60% of the population will work in jobs that don't exist today. It is, therefore, very important that parents, schools, and related-public sectors collaborate in developing children's skills according to their preference and capabilities. It is also necessary to develop skills that are required for this digital world and bring in technology to support their life-long learning. These shall prepare our children as a supreme asset in developing our nation in this digital age."
