Thailand’s first training institute to grow skills of real estate sector professionals
- Invests Bht 70 million a year to improve quality of people in management, customer service, design, construction
- AP (Thailand) business partner Mitsubishi Estate Group offers skills training support and field trips to Japan
- First developer to invest in ‘Mobile Application’ for staff to complement study curriculum with interactive functions
Bangkok (1 October 2015) – AP (Thailand) Public Company Limited, one of Thailand’s leading property developers, today, announced the opening of Thailand’s first training institution that aims to help further advance the standards of professionalism in the real estate sector. Called ‘AP Academy’, the institution’s training curriculum covers the full spectrum of services in the property sector, from project management, design and construction, to sales, after-sales, and other customer-facing services.
The AP Academy was established with an annual grant of Bht 70 million provided by AP (Thailand). Additional training support and study field trips are being provided by Japanese property giant Mitsubishi Estate Group which is a business partner of AP (Thailand).
In addition to AP (Thailand) staff and real estate sector professionals, university students interested in a career in the sector will be able to benefit from the AP Academy with special classes tailored for their particular needs.
The inauguration of AP Academy was presided over by Mr. Anuphong Assavabhokhin, Chief Executive Officer of AP (Thailand), accompanied by Mr. Pumipat Sinacharoen, Director of the AP Academy and AP (Thailand)’s Chief People Officer, as well as Mr. Hideki Nishikami and Mr. Tomohiko Eguchi, two senior executives from Mitsubishi Estate Group.
Mr. Assavabhokhin, Chief Executive Officer, AP (Thailand), said, “People are at the core of this business. If we want to build great homes, we need to start by developing great people in the business of creating and building homes. We hope to contribute to the advancement of the sector by establishing the AP Academy to share know-how and nurture more first-class professionals. We have been preparing for this day for five years and have created a curriculum that focuses on providing real, actionable teaching that all graduates of the Academy can immediately put into practice.”
He added, “We are particularly pleased to have received outstanding support from our business partner Mitsubishi Estate Group that deepens our relationship and commitment for the long-term development of the Thai property sector.”
Recently (30 September 2015) Mitsubishi Estate Group and AP (Thailand) signed the agreement to jointly develop their eighth condominium project along mass rapid transit lines with a project value of Bht 2,600 million. The joint venture is in addition to past projects that Mitsubishi Estate Group and AP (Thailand) have undertaken together and which have a total value of Bht 23,650 million
Mr. Anuphong said, “Our business partnership and our training partnership with Mitsubishi Estate Group affirms the confidence of our Japanese partner in AP (Thailand)’s potential and our company’s dedication to the highest quality standards in this sector.”
Mr. Pumipat Sinacharoen, Director of the AP Academy and AP (Thailand) Chief People Officer, added that the AP Academy would operate under three structures.
“The first is the AP Property School with learning activities that aim to develop the quality, skills, knowledge and capabilities for AP (Thailand)’s staff. The second is the AP Open House, which targets the training of university students through a 3-month curriculum under the supervision of 50 expert professionals. The course gives them fundamental knowledge on the sector as well as builds their basic work skills through hands-on experience in many specialised areas including construction standards and quality control. And the third is the AP Symposium, which is open to students as well as the members of the public and focuses on new design ideas and innovations. Speakers are famous Thai and international design gurus who are invited to share their knowledge and inspiration,” he said.
Mr. Sinacharoen said that the training will be complemented with online modules through an AP Academy mobile phone application.
“This App is the first from a property developer in Thailand that aims to provide systematic training in an interactive way,” he said.
For updates on AP Academy and other activities of AP (Thailand), please visit www.apthai.com and www.facebook.com/APthai
 opens AP Academy){kind=link}