The state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) expects to be able to provide job training in June to half of those who identify their aspiring careers.
Some 4 million recipients of the government's welfare and subsidy scheme for the poor signed up with the BAAC to participate in the career development programme under the scheme's second phase.
Of that 4 million, 3.7 million of them have already specified in what careers they want training, said Sarayoot Yimyuan, the bank's executive vice-president.
The number identifying what career skills they want developed is expected to increase, he said. The bank is due to close the period for registrants indicating their career choice at the end of this month, with skills training programmes starting in June.
Upstream agriculture, agro-processing and merchant are the most popular careers for the 3.7 million people who have chosen, said Mr Sarayoot.
The second phase of the government's welfare and subsidy scheme is aimed at comprehensively and sustainably addressing the root causes of poverty by setting up a customised plan for each registrant to boost income and alleviate debt.
Most who have signed up for aid through the BAAC are farmers.
Last August the cabinet approved the first phase of the aid package, worth 41.9 billion baht, for 11.4 million low-income earners -- 5.3 million of whom have income below the poverty line of 30,000 baht a year.
To encourage the aid scheme's recipients to learn job skills, the government provides an additional living allowance of 100-200 baht a month to buy goods at Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops, on top of the 200-300 given under the first phase.
Apart from training, the second phase was designed to allow low-income earners better access to financial resources covering basic needs, including homes, land for generating income and savings for retirement through the BAAC and the Government Savings Bank.
Mr Sarayoot said the BAAC and related government agencies will offer distribution channels to those who pass the training through more than 6,000 Pracha Rat markets.
"For farmers who are unsure about finding a market for their produce, we'll have farmers who will purchase their products to resell," he said.
"More than 100,000 farmers nationwide have already registered to be buyers."
