Vocational Training of Local South-East Asian Specialists in PLC Implementation for Industrial Automation

Vocational intensive training opportunities are crucial for skill development and enhancing employability. As part of the Erasmus Capacity-building in the field of higher education (CBHE) initiative, the ASEAN Factori 4.0 project has planned activities aimed at providing vocational training for local specialists in Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and their application in industrial automation across three countries: Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. The paper outlines the activities related to the conducted vocational trainings and evaluates their effectiveness. The aim of the vocational training was to provide specialists from local Asian companies in the field of industrial automation with practical skills in programming PLCs. Pre and Post surveys were conducted, and the developed questionnaires for these surveys are presented in the paper. The objectives of the Pre-test were to gather information about the trainees' level of PLC knowledge and to assist trainers in program preparation. The main objectives of the Post-test questionnaire were to collect feedback from the trainees and evaluate the effectiveness of the course. An analysis of the results from all the surveys conducted is described in the paper. Conclusions regarding the results and effectiveness of the training are drawn based on this analysis.