CHINESE TALENT TRAINING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ENTERPRISES:EMPLOYMENT STATUS, EVALUATION &DEMAND ANALYSIS AND COORDINATION MECHANISMS — BASED ON THE SURVEY OF THAI BANGKOK METROPOLITAN REGION AND RAYONG PROVINCE

Abstract

This study focuses on local institutions and Chinese-funded enterprises in Thai Bangkok metropolitan region and Rayong province. Drawing on data from 137 questionnaires and 6 in-depth interviews, it systematically analyses the realities of enterprise demand, competency assessment, cooperative willingness, and the development of university–industry collaborative mechanisms in relation to Chinese language talent.The findings reveal that:(1) The distribution of Chinese language positions is diverse, with most employees working in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Their job responsibilities mainly involve translation, sales, and administrative support.(2) Both corporate satisfaction and comprehensive competency evaluations of Chinese language professionals average 3.8 on a five-point scale, indicating a moderately high level of satisfaction. Enterprises particularly value linguistic expression, learning capacity, and communication skills, whereas deficiencies remain in mastering industry-specific terminology and cross-cultural competence.(3) Although nearly half of the surveyed enterprises have not yet engaged in university–industry cooperation and the outcomes of existing partnerships remain limited, most enterprises express strong willingness to co-develop Chinese language talent with higher education institutions. They prefer practice-oriented collaboration, such as offering curriculum advice, co-developing teaching materials, and providing internship opportunities.(4) The existing university–industry collaboration mechanism is still underdeveloped, marked by fragmented cooperation channels and insufficiently institutionalised or standardised platforms.To enhance the contribution of Chinese language talent to the labour market of Thailand, this paper proposes the construction of a regional collaborative education mechanism that emphasises multi-stakeholder engagement among government, universities, and enterprises in cultivating a shared talent pool for Chinese language education. From an enterprise perspective, this study enriches research on Chinese language majors in Thai higher education, provides empirical evidence for the professionalisation of Chinese language education in Thailand, and offers a new theoretical framework and practical pathway for advancing industry–education integration in Chinese language talent cultivation across the region.