The TOEIC® Program Celebrates Twenty Years of Measuring Global Workplace English in Thailand

To mark this milestone, the CPA has initiated a program to help develop the English language skills of Thailand’s vocational students

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Princeton, N.J. (February 19, 2010) —

In 1990, Educational Testing Service (ETS) partnered with the Center for Professional Assessment (CPA) in Thailand to begin administration of the TOEIC® test. Now, 20 years later, CPA plans even greater expansion for corporations and educational organizations throughout Thailand.

The launch of CPA's 21st year began in January 2010 with the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Ministry of Education, to formalize a cooperative effort to develop the English-language skills of Thailand's vocational teachers and students. The MoU signing recognizes several years of cooperation between CPA (Thailand) and OVEC to develop and deliver programs that improve the ability of vocational school teachers to integrate English across their curriculum, consequently increasing the employment opportunities of Thailand's vocational students.

"Signing this MoU affirms our commitment to continued expansion and to developing vocational teaching skills and workplace English proficiency in preparation for employees' entry into South East Asia's labor force," said Dr. Komarakul Na Nagara, Executive Director of the CPA (Thailand).

In representing the TOEIC test in Thailand, CPA has worked with major private and public sector organizations to help establish English-language standards for jobs. These language standards have allowed organizations to strengthen their international standing. The MoU with the government sector will further strengthen global competitiveness by ensuring that the future entry workforce meet the required English- language proficiency standards set by these organizations.

"The 20th anniversary of the TOEIC test in Thailand is an important one for both CPA and ETS," said David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at ETS. "CPA has been a significant partner, contributing to the growth of business in Thailand and helping Thai companies play an increasingly important role in the global economy. We look forward to the continued growth of programs that support the development of English-language skills among Thailand's students and professionals."

ETS and CPA (Thailand) continue to work with Thailand's professional and education sectors to increase awareness of the importance of English-language skills and create opportunities for continued language development.

About ETS

At nonprofit ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® test and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.