The
Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 will create a flow of capital and labour
in the region, bringing both opportunities and challenges for engineers and
architects.
"No worry for Thai engineers, as there
are many professional agencies taking care of them while there are none in some
countries," said Banjongjitt Angsusingh, director of the Bureau of Trade
in Services and Investment at the Trade Negotiations Department.
Speaking at a seminar on the AEC and
engineering professionals held by Chulalongkorn University's Engineering Alumni
and Faculty of Engineering, Ms Banjongjitt said there would be a mutual
recognition agreement (MRA) among country members to set qualifications for
professional labour.
In practice, things may not be so simple.
Ms Banjongjitt named English as a weak point
of not just engineers but also other professions in Thailand. For most Thai
professionals, written English is good but the spoken language needs
improvement.
Another issue is that Thai engineers lack
inspiration and incentives for working overseas. In order to benefit from the
AEC, they must take the offensive.
"In 2015, when the AEC is open, it is
like a ribbon cutting at a fair," said Ms Banjongjitt. "Those who
have a guide map in hand will have more advantages than others."
Thaweejit Chandrasakha, a former president of
the Association of Siamese Architects, said his group prepared Thai architects
for the AEC by using an open-door policy rather than a closed-door one.
Otherwise, Thai architects might be less competitive.
"We need to be open, but open with
regulations set to control," he said.
According to the Asean Architect Council
(AAC), eight regulations will govern architects working in the region.
Requirements include being an architecture
graduate with over five years of study, a licence and at least 10 years of work
experience.
They must also have worked with a licence for
over five years and held a major architecture job at least two years.
They must hold a Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) certificate for architecture and have no record of violating
morals or standards, and they must practice in line with the AAC's regulations.
"Now architects in other Asean countries
that we are worried about, like those in Singapore, are moving beyond competing
to grab a job in Thailand," Mr Thaweejit said. "In reality, they want
to employ Thai architects, who are recognised as hard workers."
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