Redesigning HRM for instructor competency in Thai vocational and bachelor of technology education: Challenges and strategic directions

This study examines human resource management (HRM) systems in Thailand's vocational education sector, focusing on their alignment with the country's innovation-driven policy objectives. Employing a two-phase, multi-stakeholder abductive qualitative design, the study first diagnoses systemic challenges through semi-structured interviews with thirty-eight participants across diverse stakeholder groups, including vocational leaders, instructors, students, graduates, and industry partners. It then develops and refines strategic reforms through a connoisseurship method involving twenty expert reviewers. The findings suggest that existing centralized, inflexible HRM frameworks hinder institutional adaptability and the advancement of instructors' competencies. Key challenges identified include bureaucratic inflexibility and insufficient institutional autonomy; constrained career pathways that are not aligned with industry-related competencies; and a poor alignment between policy directives and local execution. In response, the study proposes five interconnected strategies: (1) decentralizing HRM authority to empower institutions with greater decision-making autonomy; (2) establishing distinct career pathways that align with industry standards and competencies; (3) reforming evaluation systems to better reflect performance and development needs; (4) strengthening institutional capacity through targeted legal reforms that support operational flexibility; and (5) enhancing collaborations between industry and education to ensure relevance and responsiveness. The research contributes a stakeholder-informed reform framework for HRM in vocational education, offering context-grounded policy directions designed to bridge the gap between national innovation goals and institutional practice in emerging economies.