Firms must pay for industrial apprenticeship program: Expert<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): The new industrial apprenticeship program
\nlaunched by the Ministry of Manpower should be financed by the
\nindustrial community because they are the chief beneficiary of
\nthe program, according to a German expert.<\/p>\n
Manfred Diehl, manager of the Indonesia-Germany technical
\nassistance project at the Bandung Instructor Training Center
\n(BLIB), says the best way to ensure cooperation from the private
\nbusiness sector is through legislation.<\/p>\n
"Entrepreneurs should realize that the apprenticeship program
\nwill benefit them," Diehl told The Jakarta Post. A similar
\napprenticeship program in Germany is financed by the private
\nbusiness sector, he said.<\/p>\n
Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief launched his apprenticeship
\nprogram early this year, enlisting the support of hundreds of
\ncompanies. But the program is still essentially a government
\ninitiative and financed by the government with some financial
\nassistance from the German government.<\/p>\n
Diehl said that without more funding from the private
\nbusiness sector, the program is likely to move slowly.<\/p>\n
Germany has chipped in DM 8.8 million (Rp 12.3 billion) in
\nthe technical assistance towards the Bandung Instructor Training
\nCenter (BLIB), which is a vital component of Latief's
\napprenticeship program.<\/p>\n
Diehl said a possible alternative to the government's
\napprenticeship program is to compel all companies to set up their
\nown in-house training centers.<\/p>\n
The larger corporations should have no problem with this plan
\nwhile the smaller companies could probably pool their resources
\nand jointly establish their training centers, he said.<\/p>\n
Such a scheme will go a long way towards improving the
\nquality of Indonesian workers, he said.<\/p>\n
Diehl, who has a masters in business administration and a PhD
\nin machining, warns that the apprenticeship program cannot be
\nexpected to solve Indonesia's main labor problem of creating
\nenough job opportunities for its ever growing labor force.<\/p>\n
"Training centers do not create jobs," he said. Even if all
\nworkers are skilled, the unemployment problem in Indonesia will
\nremain because of the limited number of job opportunities. .<\/p>\n
The key lies in another of Latief's new programs, the one
\naimed at training youths to gain entrepreneurial skill and
\nspirit, he said.<\/p>\n
Diehl notes, however, that Indonesia is making progress in
\nimproving the quality of its work force, attributing this largely
\nto the government's education and labor policies. "The time will
\ncome for this nation to see that most of the people are educated
\nand skilled. And it is in the process," he said.(rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/firms-must-pay-for-industrial-apprenticeship-program-expert-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}