Cooperative education during Covid-19 pandemic: enhancing legal rights and professional development of interns in Thailand

Purpose The study aims at enriching the existing cooperative education sector in Thailand. Adequate cooperative education has direct impacts upon graduates’ future professional development, employability and enhanced professional skills. The cooperative education framework in Thailand is relatively a recent concept and lacks detailed research. Design/methodology/approach The methodology adopted in this study is mixed-method, inclusive of qualitative methodology where data were collected through key informant interviews and; quantitative methodology involving survey questionnaires with a sample of 350 respondents. The data analysis included the quantitative analysis with Chi-square and excerpts from the key informant interview respondents. Additional strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis is performed to provide for gaps at various levels of cooperative education and the potential opportunities to the graduates in Thailand. Findings The findings depict a lack of legal framework for effective skill development, uncertain moral and physical security of the interns and absence of legal rights for interns, minimal support and assistance from the government sector, reduced future employability and insufficient financial resources among poorer students. Research limitations/implications Lack of student and cooperative database with the government departments. Practical implications The Thai Qualification Framework has been adopted in a majority of universities, however, the quality assurance does not cover the student’s perspectives, financial and social limitations towards attending the cooperative education. Social implications With enhanced vulnerabilities due to the Covid-19 pandemic, adverse impacts are analysed and recommendations are provided for enhancing cooperative education opportunities towards students. Originality/value This research aims to understand the perspectives of the students who graduated with cooperative education and are currently working professionals.