Ex-post Evaluation

1. Outline of the Project

Country:

Thailand

Project Title:

Technical Cooperation for The National Computer Software Training Center

Issue/Sector:

Cooperation Scheme:

Project-type Technical Cooperation

Division in Charge:

Mining and Industrial Development Cooperation Department

Total cost :

1,100 Million yen

Period of Cooperation

May 1991 - April 1996
May - October 1996 (Follow-up)

Partner Country’s Implementing Organization:

The National Computer Software Training Center, Ministry of University Affairs

Supporting Organization in Japan:

Related Cooperation:

1-1 Background of the Project

Amidst rapid development of the Thai economy through increased investment from other countries, shortage of IT personnel, who compose the foundation of various industries, has become apparent. Although training programs for IT personnel were being offered by various schools mainly in the private sector to overcome this situation, these training courses did not fully meet the demands of the industries. To deal with this situation, the government of Thailand planned to establish the Thai National Computer Software Training Center (NCSTC) (hereafter referred to as “the Center”) and requested the cooperation of the government of Japan.

1-2 Project Overview

This project aimed at fostering engineers in the field of computer technology by improving the training capabilities of the Center.

(1) Overall Goal
To foster engineers in the field of computer technology and thus contributing to the socio-economic development of the Kingdom of Thailand.

(2) Project Purpose
NCSTC provides training courses to foster engineers in the field of computer technology.

(3) Outputs
1) Development of the instructors.
2) Development of maintenance engineers.
3) Installation of necessary equipments for the training.
4) Establishing managerial functions and implementation of NCSTC course.

(4) Inputs

2. Evaluation Team

Members of Evaluation Team

JICA Thailand Office
Kokusai Kogyo (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Commissioned to a local consultant)

Period of Evaluation

December 11, 2002 – January 24, 2003

Type of Evaluation:

Ex-post Evaluation by Overseas Office

3. Results of Evaluation

3-1 Summary of Evaluation Results

(1) Impact
From 1994 to 2002, an average of 630 people per year received training at the Center, totaling 5,648 students over the nine-year period. According to the National Information and Communication Technology Master Plan (2002-2006), there was a need for 90,000 IT engineers in 2002, and the Center was only able to contribute in meeting 1.3% of that demand. However, about 70% of the Center’s trainees are now public employees, including those who took on key positions in IT-related divisions of governmental organizations. From this point, it could be understood that the Center has contributed highly in enhancing IT skills within governmental organizations.

In October 2002 the Center sent questionnaires to 3,000 people who had completed training courses at the Center, and received responses from 1,055 of them. The results of the questionnaire showed that the training courses were extremely effective. Seventy-three percent (73%) of the respondents stated that they have utilized the technical knowledge they gained from the training “frequently” or “to some extent”. This indicates that the trainees are making good use of the technical knowledge they gained from the training courses. In addition, 72% of the respondents cited that the certification was helpful in developing their careers or expanding job opportunities. From these points, it could be understood that the training courses have helped promote employment to some extent.

(2) Sustainability
After the project was completed, the Center divided a number of long-term courses into short-term courses and, in addition, added many new short-term courses. This change was made in order to meet the needs of the trainees and industries. The Center’s capacity to provide training was maintained and developed further after the project’s completion.

The Center is encouraging its instructors to improve their technical skills, and has set up a system enabling instructors to participate in external training once a year. In addition, the Center encourages instructors to pursue higher degrees. However, turnover rate is quite high for staff in the IT field, and only six out of the 23 counterpart personnel who received training in Japan are still remaining at the Center. This forces the Center to compensate for its internal shortages by using external instructors, and is currently employing 42 of them. Further, the Center’s management structure is weak. The director and assistant director are working on a part-time basis, and lack of candidates to serve as division heads forces the director to serve concurrently as head of all of the divisions.

Regarding the operational budget, on average, the Center has been receiving about 70% of its budget from the Ministry of Universities and covering the other 30% with revenue from training for the past 12 years. In recent years, the budget allocations have decreased, reflecting the government’s severe fiscal situation. About 14% of the revenue goes to maintenance and upgrading of the equipment. The Center still maintains necessary for training, however, the Center seems to be lacking in number of necessary equipment pieces.

Since the completion of the project, many organizations and schools other than the Center are now able to offer training to IT technicians, bringing an uncertainty to the Center’s role. For example, NECTEC (The National Electronics and Computer Technology Center) started to provide similar services, and is able to take in a larger number of students. A network of educational organizations is scheduled to be integrated into EdNet (The National Education Network) in 2003, and there are plans to subsequently integrate the Center into EdNet’s training division. The Center’s organizational mission is expected to be clarified after the reorganization.

3-2 Factors that Promoted the Realization of Effects

(1) Factors Concerning the Planning
N/A

(2) Factors Concerning the Implementation Process
One of the contributing factors for the increase in the number of people receiving training is that the strong need for IT technicians in the government and the private sector. In addition, acquiring the Center’s course certification has become an incentive for the trainees since it has become recognized by governmental organizations and private companies. This has contributed to the improvement of careers and job opportunities. Furthermore, there were two more positive factors which promoted the realization of the effects: (1) The number of public employees and NPO staff interested in training has increased since they can receive a 30% exemption from their training fee. (2) The Center is located close to other government organizations, which makes it convenient for public employees to attend the training.

3-3 Factors that Impeded Realization of Effects

(1) Factors Concerning the Planning
N/A

(2) Factors Concerning the Implementation Process

1) There were no sufficient follow-up surveys on those who attend the training courses, due to lack of permanent managers at the Center. There was no proper mechanism for evaluating the training courses. Trainees received only one questionnaire, which did not include an evaluation of the quality of the teachers. As a result, there was little opportunity to resolve the students’ dissatisfactions regarding staff and course management.
2) The number of trainees was restricted due to small classrooms and lack of equipment. Many projectors, computers and monitors became necessary in order to run many short courses at the same time. However, since the Center could not secure enough equipment, it has had to reduce its class sizes from an average of 30 trainees held in each class during the project’s duration to an average of 18.

3-4 Conclusion

The number of training courses and the number of participants has been increasing even after the project was completed. A certain amount of secured funds enables them to update necessary equipment. However, the management structure is weak due to some vacant executive positions and high turnover rate of instructors. Currently, the Center is in competition with other institutions providing similar services and is facing the need for revising its organizational mission and strategy. The Thai government is planning to create a network among educational organizations. This would be a good opportunity for the Center to revise its mission and take advantage of its training functions, which were strengthened through such projects as distance learning.

3-5 Recommendations

(1) The Center needs to adopt an evaluation system to help improve its performance and to revise the training courses to meets trainees’ needs and satisfaction. It would also be advisable to introduce weekend training courses to meet the diverse needs of the trainees.

(2) Since it is necessary to update computer software and the hardware frequently to meet the demand, it would be advisable for the Center to start leasing expensive equipment.

3-6 Lessons Learned

It should be understood that since technologies are rapidly changing, a project’s planning stage should not take a long time, in order to avoid failure to meet the needs and demands of the sector. This project took almost two years to plan and the procured equipment models became quickly outdated. It is recommended that the time between the planning stage and the implementation stage of projects be as short as possible.

3-7 Follow-up Situation

N/A