Labor market<\/p>\n
As one of the leading providers of training for professional
\ncertification (project management) in Southeast Asia, I feel
\ncompelled to respond to your article in the Jan. 15, 2003 issue
\nof The Jakarta Post, entitled RI asked to open its labor market
\nby Rendi A. Witular.<\/p>\n
Unless Indonesia wishes to remain forever an underdeveloped
\nnation, wracked by corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN), it
\nis imperative that the door be opened for competition as soon as
\npossible. Indonesians are neither stupid nor lazy. They are being
\nheld back by a paternalistic policy whereby the government, in
\n\"protecting\" them from the outside world, has retarded their
\nchances to compete and prosper in the global economy. The false
\nlogic of this argument can be illustrated by looking at the many
\nIndonesian professionals who do live and work successfully
\noutside Indonesia. Evidence of the impact of the short-sighted
\npolicies advocated by Arsa Suthisna can best be illustrated by
\nthe following true story.<\/p>\n
One of our clients earned her professional certification as a
\nproject manager while working at a multinational company. After
\nearning her certification, she was offered a position with the
\nsame company, working in a nearby country, doing the same work,
\nat a salary that was seven times the salary she was making in
\nIndonesia. When asked recently whether she planned to return to
\nIndonesia, she stated: \"Until the salaries in Indonesia match
\ncomparable professional salaries in other countries, I am not
\ninterested in returning.\"<\/p>\n
Speaking from our own 10 years of local and regional
\nexperiences as a training provider for several globally
\nrecognized certifications, Indonesia is lagging far behind what
\nMalaysia, Singapore, China and even Vietnam are doing in the area
\nof professional credentialing and competency development.
\nSo the answer lies not in postponing the opening of the labor
\nmarket, but in ending paternalistic and regressive practices that
\nare keeping Indonesian professionals from achieving their full
\npotential.<\/p>\n
Indonesians have the brains, they have the commitment, and
\nthey have the opportunity. The challenge to the government is to
\nremove the restrictions that make it difficult for them to obtain
\ninternationally recognized certifications. How? By releasing the
\nfunding provided by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and
\nothers to enable as many as possible to obtain appropriate
\ntraining and to actively support and reward those companies who
\ncan prove by demonstrable and verifiable results that they truly
\nprovide \"technology transfer\".<\/p>\n
To do anything less is to invite an inevitable \"brain drain\"
\nas the best and brightest seek appropriate compensation,
\nrecognition and opportunity outside.<\/p>\n
PAUL D. GIAMMALVO, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/labor-market-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }