Development of a Competency-Based Curriculum through Co-Creation Mechanism to Build High-Skilled Labor Force: Case Studies of Thailand, Singapore, Germany and South Korea

Abstract

Thailand’s time-based education system still faces limitations in developing 21^st Century skills and misalignment with labor market demands. This article analyzes the development of a competency-based curriculum (CBC) through case studies of Thailand, Singapore, Germany, and South Korea, aiming to propose guidelines for enhancing high-skilled labor that corresponds to the needs of the industrial sectors. The study reveals that Thailand has CBC pilot projects such as Work-integrated Learning (WiL), Skill-Mapping, and Higher Education Sandbox. However, it also has key weaknesses, for example, weak tripartite cooperation (government, private sectors, educational institutions), insufficient financial support, inflexible curricula that do not focus on high-tech fields, an unfavorable image of vocational education and unequal distribution of educational opportunities. The article proposes key policy recommendations, including adjusting curricula based on real-time skill demand data, enhancing the image of vocational education through communication campaigns that focuses on the significance of careers, and expanding opportunities with mobile training units and hybrid learning online courses. Adopting approaches from model countries will reduce the skills gap, create skilled labor that meets industry demands, and sustainably enhance the country’s competitiveness.