- Home
- About us
- Visas and migration
- Travelling to Australia
- Services for Australians
- Doing business with Australia
- Study in Australia
- Bilateral cooperation
- Media
- About Australia
- Australia- Thailand relationship
- Events
The Thai-Australian Tourism & Hospitality Professional Development Centre for Tsunami-Affected Regions launched in Krabi
(Krabi – May 2008) HE Mr. William Paterson PSM, Australian Ambassador to Thailand and Mr.Veerasak Wongsombut, Secretary-General of the Office of the Vocational Education Commission recently presided over the official opening of the Thai-Australian Tourism & Hospitality (TA-T&H) Professional Development Centre for Tsunami-Affected Regions at Krabi Technical College in Krabi province. The Thai-Australian TA-T&H Professional Development Centre is a part of the project joint-funded by the Thai Ministry of Education through the Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC) and the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations (DEEWR).
“We are pleased and confident that the TA-T&H Professional Development Centre will become a demonstration of Australian expertise in competency-based training. It will be an excellent Thai-Australian cooperation model for sustainable presence in the delivery of training programs to strengthen the skills and knowledge of local Thai people in the tourism and hospitality industry,” said Ambassador Paterson.
Located at one of Thailand’s top tourism destinations, the TA-T&H Professional Development Centre in Krabi has a firm mission to become a successful pilot Centre for the provision of quality tourism and hospitality professional development programs in the region. The Centre aims to develop the professional skills of the College Directors and teaching staff, especially their English communication skills. In addition, the Centre will work in developing industry relevant curriculum to meet international standards.
At the request of OVEC, the project has been expanded to deliver trainings for nine Technical Colleges in Krabi, Phuket, Ranong, Phang–nga, Songkhla, Nakhonsrithammarat and Surat Thani from earlier planned in four provinces. To date, a range of activities have been conducted including field visits to the region; general & vocational English training at Northern Sydney Institute, Australia; Train the trainer workshop series; curriculum design and development training; and Advisory Council meeting.
The Thai Ministry of Education (MoE) through the Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC) would continue to fund the ongoing operations and human
resources for the Training Centre once the formal project activity has ceased.
“We strongly believe that the TA-T&H Professional Development Centre will support local community needs as part of Thailand’s vocational training strategies, enabling Thai tourism and hospitality industry to fully recover from the tsunami and maintain a sustainable quality training centre for trainers in the region,” said Anne Reynolds, Counsellor, Australian Education International.
The TA-T&H Professional Development Centre is managed by the International Centre of Excellence in Tourism & Hospitality Education (THE-ICE- a business unit of the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre) and its Network Members: North Sydney Institute,
The University of Queensland, Victoria University & Victoria Education and William Angliss Institute.
For more information of the TA-T&H Professional Development Centre, please visit www.TA-TandH.org
Click here for Press Release in Thai version