Amid the relentless acceleration of technological change, Thailand faces a shortage of AI personnel reaching 80,000 people, with AI adoption rates in organizations remaining below 20%.
This challenge has driven both the public and major private sectors, led by True Corporation and Google, to seriously collaborate through a new initiative. “AI for All Thais.” This project aims to make AI a concrete part of Thailand’s education system by launching the AI for Future Workforce special course, which offers official academic credits. It is being piloted at over 20 universities with plans for nationwide expansion.
Professor Dr. Yossanan Wongvasit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), clearly stated that developing AI talent is a "national agenda" requiring urgent action. He revealed a four-year strategic plan to make AI a key capital asset for the country.
Currently, Thailand faces multiple challenges including an economic slowdown, geopolitical tensions, climate change, and disasters. The greatest challenge is rapidly changing technology that threatens the survival of some professions. Therefore, AI and deep AI literacy are shared responsibilities of the government toward society and the nation.
Professor Dr. Yossanan revealed that although AI governance and adoption in Thailand are growing, progress is insufficient. By 2025, AI usage is expected to remain below 20%, highlighting a critical gap. It is also estimated that Thailand needs approximately 80,000 AI professionals, but current output is far below this demand. Despite improvements, it remains inadequate to attract global investments or help Thailand escape the middle-income trap.
“Thus, this is not just about education but also about the livelihood and future of the country. My goal is that within four years, one in three Thais will have AI literacy. If achieved, I believe we can advance the nation.”
The Ministry of Higher Education will act as the main driver in setting policy direction, supporting the tangible integration of AI into higher education, and establishing comprehensive learning pathways from foundational knowledge to advanced expertise, linking education with real labor market needs.
What sets this initiative apart from previous efforts is the push to have AI courses officially recognized for academic credits within universities, elevating AI learning from informal skill-building activities to formally weighted academic subjects.
On the private sector side, True Corporation and Google have designed a comprehensive AI learning program covering foundational knowledge to practical application at the university level, providing students with concrete opportunities to learn and develop AI skills through the project. “AI for All Thais.” The project is divided into two phases:
What makes this project noteworthy is the cooperative structure designed for each party to complement the others: the government sets policies and certifies standards; educational institutions implement in classrooms; True provides digital infrastructure and access; and Google elevates course standards to global levels ensuring safe use of Generative AI by students.
Sigve Brekke, CEO of True Corporation Group, pointed out that many organizations worldwide agree the real obstacle to fully leveraging AI is not technology but raising people's skills. This all starts with True employees, all of whom receive continuous foundational AI training.
The origin of the “AI for All Thais” project is part of the AI ecosystem driven by the Charoen Pokphand Group under the CP Center of Excellence (CP-CoE) at True Digital Park, which serves as a hub for Digital & AI and Data Infrastructure development to advance knowledge, innovation, and AI talent comprehensively.
“True aims to empower 12 million Thais with AI skills by 2030, starting with internal employee development and then expanding broadly through collaboration with Google. Partnering with a global leader like Google allows us to scale AI skill development beyond our workforce, preparing Thai people to become the future workforce in a new landscape transformed by AI technology.”
Meanwhile, Sarani Boonritthongchai, Director of Consumer Product Marketing for Southeast Asia and South Asia at Google, emphasized that Google has invested over 1 billion USD (approximately 36.1 billion baht) in a Cloud Region infrastructure in Bangkok and expects to generate 1.4 trillion baht in economic value within five years.
However, infrastructure investment alone is insufficient; upskilling people must proceed in parallel. To date, Google has enhanced AI skills for over 700,000 students, teachers, and business professionals in Thailand. This project will bring Google's global AI expertise to enhance Thai students' knowledge and skills, reducing digital skill gaps while fostering creativity and learning efficiency through initiatives like Gemini Academy for Students and AI Literacy & Safety modules.
“In-depth and hands-on courses will accelerate the production of high-level AI professionals, including engineers and researchers, increasing the AI workforce to close labor gaps. As national skill levels rise, productivity, innovation, and economic value will increase, enabling Thailand to overcome the middle-income trap in the long term.”
Ultimately, integrating AI into education will transform it from a specialized skill into a basic one, expanding lifelong learning for the future workforce and creating a large base of AI users—an essential condition for the future economy. Professor Dr. Yossanan concluded,
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