Efforts to enhance skilled labor mobility in ASEAN have mainly relied on the Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) on qualifications in professional services, but the slow pace of ASEAN in implementing the framework has prevented more people from experiencing the benefits of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). According to South Korean Ambassador to ASEAN, Suh Jeong-in, ASEAN MRAs are important not only in realizing AEC benefits but also to complete the supply chains established across the region by multinational corporations. Suh argued that Korean companies were finding it hard to pick up skilled workers that matched their requirements from the available talent pool in their countries of operations. Taking a slightly more constructive tone based on the Indian experience, Indian Ambassador to ASEAN Suresh K. Reddy said ASEAN needed to recognize the need for more skilled workers. However, these eight professions represent only 1.5 percent of the total ASEAN workforce of over 300 million, dominated by unskilled and low-skilled workers.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 25, 2016 07:16 UTC