Opinion Survey of Industrial Workers about the Need to Develop Essential Skills through Online Lifelong Learning

Abstract

Skills are important for industrial workers to be able to make a living. People working in industry should be able to develop their skills to increase their potential and keep up with rapid changes brought on by advances in technology. This survey of the opinions of industrial workers about their demand for development of necessary skills through online lifelong learning had the objectives of 1) surveying workers’ opinions about skills needed for industrial workers; 2) collecting data about professional development opportunities currently provided by employers; and 3) surveying industrial workers’demand for online lifelong learning. The respondents are Thai citizens working in the Thailand industry who want to develop themselves through Online Lifelong Learning and can provide information by an online survey. Data were analyzed to find percentage, mean and standard deviation.

The results showed that 1) As for opinions about skills needed for industrial workers, the workers surveyed all strongly agreed that all 3 topics were needed, namely:
desired worker attributes; professional competencies; and desired skills to support work in the digital era; topic namely: core competencies and general competencies the workers surveyed agreed. 2) As for professional development opportunities provided by employers, most employers supported workers in developing skills needed for their jobs through training sessions. The time that employers allowed workers to develop skills was mostly during work time and during breaks. Employers supported online professional skill development from outside agencies and internal agencies. 3) The workers surveyed had a high level of demand for online lifelong learning, through every channel and medium, in every subject area, through any learning management and support system, with any method of interaction, and through any device. Except for smartphones in the category of learning devices, the demand is at the highest level.