The electroplating industry in Thailand is similarly structured to that of Germany. Businesses are mainly small or medium-sized and principally supply customers in the automotive industry. In an online survey and expert interviews, the research team from the electroplating department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA has revealed that the overwhelming majority of businesses predict that employee numbers will rise over the coming years.

However, the survey also reveals that the electroplating industry in Thailand is suffering from skill gaps: in fact, the knowledge and skills which the companies surveyed regard as of particular importance are precisely the ones lacking in both the current workforce and potential future electroplating experts.

In order to tackle the skills shortage, the research team, which also includes scientists from the Metallurgy and Materials Science Research Institute (MMRI) at Chulalongkorn University Bangkok and the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Bonn, have launched the SCHOOLPLATE project (Exploration of technical and vocational education and training measures for electroplating in Thailand). The aim is to create a future-proof concept for apprenticeships and further training in Thailand.

The concept is based on findings from the survey carried out by the research team in the initial project phase. These findings have now been summarized as part of a study, which is available for download free of charge in both English and Thai: https://www.ipa.fraunhofer.de/de/Publikationen/studien/SCHOOLPLATE.html