Lifelong Learning at Tri Petch Group

Looking back to this month 2 years ago, it was the month I passed my probation period at Tri Petch Isuzu Sales. My feelings on that day, as a new graduate,I viewed working life as another world that was hard to imagine—how a person once grown, could live their working life happily every day. Perhaps it was because I had listened to experiences and stories from the media, people around me and seniors during my university years. Thinking about the phrase people often mention, "the taste of adulthood," it probably has different meanings depending on each life path and the individual's interpretation. For me, if I had to define that taste from these 2 years of starting working life, it would probably be bitter like coffee. People drink coffee despite its bitterness, but it is a bitterness that makes us feel energetic and empowered to live each day.

On the day of the final job interview with the department managers, there was one question I still remember well: was I worried about anything regarding starting work here? At that moment, two types of answers came to my mind. The first , of course, was that I would answer with confidence that I was not worried about taking this job position. But the answer that was truly in my heart was that I was full of worry, and I decided to speak out directly. That worry stemmed from the fact that I did not graduate directly in the Human Resources field, so I lacked basic knowledge and was afraid I would not perform according to the organization's expectations. Conversely, this was not among the concerns the seniors had envisioned. They reassured me that just having the heart to learn new things was enough. This is probably because the willingness to learn is the starting point that Tri Petch believes "Anything is Possible," according to what we uphold together.

I started working at the HRM Department, Learning and Development section, with responsibilities requiring planning personnel development through organizing various training and seminars. It was, therefore, an opportunity that allowed me to meet many people, both expert speakers in various subjects, as well as senior employees in the company at various levels. It was a time of learning through observation of management theories and people management, including listening to experiences from seniors who had passed through many years of working life in different roles.

Another duty of working in this field is being an assistant facilitator, helping prepare training content, and conduct activities. Throughout high school and university, I was an active student who always worked behind the scenes. The difficulty of the role right now is, therefore, moving to the forefront, holding the microphone to speak in public, which is not something I am skilled at or do very well. Being a student focused on activities during my school years was like trying to find something to do that I was happy with and could do reasonably well. Meanwhile, regarding academics, I was not very good at all. I failed mathematics continuously every term from the start of Grade 7 until Grade 11, while the difficulty of the content increased according to the academic year. But the turning point was the subject teacher who told me that if I just had the heart to learn, the teacher believed I could do it, and I passed mathematics for the first time during the second term of Grade 11.

Therefore, the Learning Curve for various matters in life probably starts from a point lower than zero, from "forcing" ourselves to do difficult things, things we are unskilled in, and making mistakes. This is followed by learning to "practice,"—correcting mistakes, and learning to develop approaches consistently, until it becomes a curve where we meet our own Growth Zone.

As of today, I have started to be a facilitator in some small courses and participated in designing courses to a greater extent. There are still many matters in life where I am still at the point of "forcing," but I also believe that if I still have the heart to learn, I will get to the point of "practicing" sooner or later. Because learning has no end point, unless we choose to stop.

The taste of adulthood through this cup of coffee at Tri Petch is still as bitter as before, but there are still subtle flavors to discover and learn which keeps refilling my energy for work every day.

By Phupa Tipviroj