Group photo of the project working team with Mr. Muhummadee Walihassun, the Job Coach, and two persons with disabilities at a car care service facility in Yala Province.

The job coach explained the consent process and participants’ rights and assisting persons with disabilities in completing consent forms before any photos or videos recording.

The project team met with the president of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Association of Parents of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.

Group photo with approximately 30 participants, including persons with disabilities, parents, and board committee members of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Association of Parents of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.

The project working team interviewed Ms. Nowwarat Aoksonpan, the Job Coach, as part of the project’s data collection process.

DIEB Project Field Monitoring on Empowering Inclusive Employment in Southern Thailand

From 14–16 October 2026, a team from APCD comprising of Ms. Thorfan Dechachainimit and Mr. Noppol Ubdulsamad, accompanied by Mr. Warit Payaksiri, a representative from the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEP), conducted field visits to Hat Yai, Yala Province, and Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in order to monitor job coaches trained under the Disability-Inclusive Employment and Business (DIEB) Project.

The mission began in Hat Yai, where the team met with the job coach and visited persons with disabilities employed as call center operators at Advanced Info Service (AIS). The visit provided an opportunity to observe their working environment, learned about their employment experiences, and discussed the support provided by the job coach to facilitate their integration into the workplace. The team then travelled to Yala Province to meet with persons with disabilities working at a car care service facility and gain further insight into their employment experiences and workplace conditions.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, the team met with the job coach to review progress in supporting persons with disabilities to access employment. The team also interviewed prospective employees who were preparing their applications, allowing the team to better understand the preparation process, challenges encountered, and support required to facilitate their transition into employment.

The visits provided an opportunity to learn about job coaches’ experiences, observe workplace conditions, and identify challenges and opportunities in promoting disability-inclusive employment outside Bangkok. The findings will inform further efforts to strengthen the job coach system and improve employment support for persons with disabilities under the project.