A Study of Training Needs of Operational-Level Employees in Prawet District, Bangkok

Abstract

Organizations in the present day serve a variety of purposes. Some organizations produce goods for consumption, while others provide essential services to the public. In order for organizations to achieve their objectives, they must rely on the adequacy and efficiency of various resources, including financial capital, technology, and human resources.

           Differences in individual work performance arise due to variations in educational backgrounds and training, which contribute to differences in income generation. Although such differences can be compared to investments in physical capital, these comparisons remain limited. For service-oriented organizations, the quality and efficiency of human resources are of paramount importance.

           Based on the aforementioned information, the research team is interested in studying the training needs of employees in Prawet District. This is because human resources are a crucial factor in driving all types of organizations toward success. Employees should continuously develop their knowledge, competencies, and work-related skills in order to become high-quality personnel and to achieve progress and success under various circumstances.

The sample group in this study consists of operational-level employees in Prawet District, Bangkok. The sample size was determined to be 400 respondents, calculated using Yamane’s formula. Purposive sampling was employed by selecting participants who had previously attended training programs. The questionnaire was reviewed by three experts, yielding an Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) greater than 0.5 for all items. The overall reliability of the questionnaire was 0.834.

           Regarding personal factors, the findings revealed that the majority of employees in Prawet District, Bangkok, were male (51.3%). Most respondents were aged between 26–30 years (43.5%), with the majority being married (44.7%). The average monthly income of most respondents ranged from 15,000 to 20,000 baht (38.5%). In terms of education, most respondents held a bachelor’s degree (56.3%), and the majority had work experience of 2–5 years (45.0%).

           Overall, the level of training needs was at a high level (mean = 3.58). When considering each dimension in descending order, it was found that personal needs ranked highest (mean = 3.64), followed by organizational needs (mean = 3.58), and job-related needs (mean = 3.54).

           When examining the top three items with the highest levels of agreement, the results indicated that:

1. Training contributes to career advancement for employees across all job functions (mean = 3.83).


2. Providing career-related knowledge to employees is essential (mean = 3.75).


3. Annual competency assessments or evaluations prior to promotion help reveal employees’ work development (mean = 3.73).

           Regarding hypothesis testing, the results showed that differences in personal factors led to differences in training needs. However, gender differences did not result in significantly different training needs. In contrast, differences in age, marital status, average monthly income, education level, and work experience were associated with significantly different training needs.