Short-term courses can create high-powered professionals<\/p>\n
Debbie A. Lubis
\nContributor
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
"Higher education and business are basically interdependent.
\nOne needs money to produce educated people, and the other needs
\neducated people to produce money," goes a saying from Milton S.
\nEisenhower in Words of Wisdom.<\/p>\n
Producing professionals still, of course, relies on formal
\neducational institutions. But providing know-how on management
\nwithin a short period of time is another story. Many educational
\ninstitutions in big cities, especially in Jakarta, are trying to
\nmeet this challenge.<\/p>\n
They try to cater for the growing demand of young and senior
\nexecutives who crave more competence, especially in business
\nmanagement skills.<\/p>\n
"I'm glad that I can run my business well, although I'm only a
\nhigh-school graduate," Hidayat, 48, said. He acknowledged that
\ntaking three, short management courses had helped him better to
\nmanage his small advertising agency in Tebet, South Jakarta, and
\nfive employees.<\/p>\n
Crisis, stiff competition and the application of more advanced
\ntechnology have forced businesspeople these days to become "real
\nprofessionals", at least in their own fields.<\/p>\n
Through short-term managerial courses, they can learn how to
\nrenew their business strategies and quickly adapt to rapid
\nchanges and challenges in economics and technology. The courses
\nusually come in the form of a variety of programs, subjects,
\nrates and periods of study.<\/p>\n
In general, the courses offer regular classes for individuals,
\nwhile a special class is referred to as "in-house company
\ntraining". Both are available every month. Most of the packages
\nlast from two days to one month, with tuition fees ranging from
\nRp 1.5 million to Rp 10 million (about US$1,175). As the classes
\nstart in the morning, most of the educational institutions
\nprovide free meals and coffee breaks for participants.<\/p>\n
The participants may choose one course subject from dozens of
\noptions under the category "core knowledge and skills", such as
\nhuman resource management, marketing management, finance and
\naccounting management, strategic management, operations
\nmanagement, decision making and special topics.<\/p>\n
"Classes for in-house training have been much in demand
\nrecently, while the most favorite subject for regular classes is
\ngood corporate governance," Sundari, a public relations officer
\nfrom the economics management institute at the University of
\nIndonesia (LMUI), said. Most of its clients work as senior staff
\nin banks.<\/p>\n
LMUI was established in 1963. It offers 22 course subjects for
\nregular classes, with tuition fees ranging from Rp 1.75 million
\nto Rp 3.5 million. The class can run if 15 students are
\nregistered; if there are more than 20, the class will be run in a
\nhotel.<\/p>\n
There are seven subjects available for in-house-training
\nclasses, with tuition fees charged per session (up to Rp 1
\nmillion per 60 minutes) or per participant (up to Rp 1.7 million
\nper person) and one class may have a maximum of 25 participants.<\/p>\n
Sundari said that the programs were available for those who
\nhad graduated from senior high school and the participants would
\nreceive a certificate only if they attended all sessions in the
\nchosen program.<\/p>\n
Educational background, however, is not an essential
\nrequirement for the participants of managerial and strategic
\nshort courses at Prasetiya Mulya Business School. It has offered
\n33 subjects for regular classes and 40 for in-house training
\nclasses within the past 15 years.<\/p>\n
The classes usually last for two days to four days. The
\ntuition fee for a managerial short course ranges from Rp 1.4
\nmillion to Rp 1.7 million, while the strategic short course fee
\nis from Rp 2.3 million to Rp 3.2 million.<\/p>\n
The courses use practical and participative methods, in which
\nthe participants get involved in lecture sessions, case studies
\nand group discussion. In some programs, role-play, video
\nrecording and computer simulation are also applied. Course
\nparticipants receive a certificate only if they have attended at
\nleast 70 percent of the sessions.<\/p>\n
Prasetiya Mulya's charges for in-house training standard
\nclasses are based on the number of participants. At least 15
\nparticipants should attend the class if it is run at the
\nPrasetiya Mulya building, or 24 participants if it is outside.<\/p>\n
A lecture session in the company can last for a maximum of
\nthree hours, including a question-and-answer session.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the PPM Institute of Management offers around 69
\nsubjects in its Executive Development classes, which are held in
\nthe evening.<\/p>\n
The classes usually last for 12 hours to 40 hours and the fee
\nranges from Rp 2 million to Rp 3.75 million.<\/p>\n
Established in 1969, PPE programs had served more than
\n320,000 participants by December 2001. Educational background is
\nnot a requirement for this program.<\/p>\n
PPM also offers Special Executive Development programs -- or
\nin-house training -- that are run on the basis of a training-
\nneeds survey. By the end of 2000, the institute had catered to
\nmore than 310,000 participants.<\/p>\n
The packages consist of eight-hour lecture session\/seminars;
\nstandard training that can be modified from 12-hour to 40-hour
\nsessions to eight-hour ones; and an eight-hour, specially
\ndesigned training session.<\/p>\n
To cater for the needs of young managers, PPM provides a five-
\nweek program, the "Young Managers' Program".<\/p>\n
With a fee of Rp 9.9 million, the program runs from Monday to
\nFriday, starting at 3:30 p.m. and finishing at 9 p.m. The fee
\nincludes lesson materials, meals, snacks and beverages, a
\ncertificate and a graduation ceremony.<\/p>\n
Fresh university graduates (S1) who have no job experience and
\ndiploma three (D3) graduates who have worked for three years can
\nenter the program. "The program is designed for those who have
\nworked at initial line management level. The participants are
\ntaught how to produce a comprehensive business plan and put
\ncorporate strategies into action," PPM customer officer Rini
\nBaroto said.<\/p>\n
The sessions are delivered through discussion, study visits to
\ncompanies, case studies and simulation. The course aims to enable
\nits participants to build teamwork, develop good leadership
\nskills and personality traits, improve their problem-solving
\nskills and become better acquainted with supervision techniques.<\/p>\n
To attract more participants to enter their managerial short
\ncourses, some educational institutions offer discounts. Prasetiya
\nMulya offers a 7.5 percent discount to participants who
\npay the course fee two weeks before classes begin, while PPM
\ngives a 5 percent discount to those who pay three weeks
\nbeforehand. Both institutions also offer fee exemption to one
\nstudent if a company sends ten or more participants to different
\nshort courses.<\/p>\n
Participants usually have to pay a fine of Rp 100,000 if they
\ncancel a course a minimum of three days before classes are due to
\nbegin and a fine of 50 percent of the course fee or loss of total
\nmoney paid if the cancellation occurs on the first day of the
\ncourse.<\/p>",
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