Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will recruit vocational graduates as city officials to fill a staff shortage.

Bangkok permanent-secretary Khajit Chatchavanich on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Office of Vocational Education Commission (VEC) to expand opportunities for graduates from vocational institutes to work as BMA officials.

The programme aims to promote collaborative networks among government agencies and help improve the quality of vocational graduates to suit the BMA’s needs.

BMA is suffering a shortage of staff, especially in the general official category, as many officials have requested transfers to their hometowns. Also, the city often has trouble finding candidates with the required qualifications to fill vacancies.

To prevent the issue from affecting City Hall’s efficiency, especially in units that provide public services, BMA has agreed to recruit 10 graduates of certain courses at institutes under the VEC from March-May this year.

The MOU between the BMA and VEC covers four aspects: setting staff selection criteria for 2023-2026 (phase 1 and 2), recruiting vocational graduates who wish to work as BMA officials, advertising the programme’s details, and preparing officials and resources to support the programme.

The MOU will last for four years with periodical performance evaluation.