Wasted talent<\/p>\n
Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro
\ndisclosed the other day that one in eight registered job seekers
\nin Indonesia in 1995 were university graduates. In itself, this
\nstatistic is not too shocking considering that unemployment among
\nintellectuals is not an exclusive Indonesian phenomena. The
\nproblem of jobless college graduates is found in industrialized
\ncountries, and often, at higher rates.<\/p>\n
But when we consider that only 4 percent of Indonesia's
\nworkforce has a university education, then we begin to see the
\nirony of the problem. And when we consider that employers have
\nbeen complaining about the poor skill of workers, then we can see
\nthe gravity of the problem facing our education sector.<\/p>\n
The large number of jobless college graduates represents a
\nhuge waste: of the potential talent they represent when the
\ncountry needs them the most, and of the scarce resources that has
\ngone into their education.<\/p>\n
The situation is not improving, although the problem has been
\nknown for some time. In 1990, again based on statistics given by
\nWardiman in the seminar on intellectual unemployment, nearly one
\nin 13 jobseekers were college graduates.<\/p>\n
There are other implications of the swelling rank of
\nunemployed graduates for the country as a whole. These young
\ngraduates will become so desperate that they will start taking
\nany jobs, even jobs that have traditionally gone to people with
\nhigh school diplomas.<\/p>\n
There is also the feeling for some of being dejected by the
\nsystem, after postponing employment and studying for so many
\nyears. Some people may also begin questioning the value of
\npursuing higher education, and this cannot be good for the
\ncountry in the long run. And although this may be disputable,
\nsome people say unemployed graduates pose potential security
\nrisks.<\/p>\n
What went wrong? One is tempted to blame the economy's
\ninability to absorb all the graduates that the country produces
\neach year, in spite of a 7 percent or more growth rate. This is
\nonly partially true. Among new graduates who will not find jobs
\nevery year are some 10,000 from teachers' training colleges.
\nIndonesia needs 60,000 new teachers each year and produces only
\n40,000 graduates, but the economy can only absorb 30,000.<\/p>\n
The bigger blame lies in the way we run our educational
\nsystem, particularly the higher-learning institutions. The
\npresence of so large a pool of unemployed intellectuals when the
\ncountry needs more graduates means there is a mismatch between
\nwhat education produces, and what the real world needs.<\/p>\n
The hundreds of government and private-run universities in the
\ncountry now produce some 250,000 fresh graduates each year. This
\nmay seem a lot, but not for a country as large as Indonesia,
\nespecially when one considers that university graduates are the
\nbackbone of the workforce. As Wardiman pointed out, at this rate,
\nit would take 25 years, an entire generation, before university
\ngraduates account for a decent 10 percent of the workforce.<\/p>\n
Many foreign and local companies are already recruiting
\nforeign managers and skilled workers because they cannot find
\nIndonesians capable of filling various positions where skills are
\nnecessary. With the advent of free trade, Indonesia will be
\nforced to open up its labor market even more to foreign workers.
\nWhen this happens, Indonesians, whether holding college degrees
\nor not, can no longer count on the protective shield afforded by
\nthe current tight regulations on hiring foreign workers.<\/p>\n
Most preparations for the upcoming free trade era have
\nconcentrated on getting our business sector ready. Scant
\nattention is given to preparing our workers, and judging by the
\nhigh rate of unemployed graduates, even much less on our
\neducation sector. It is time to change that now.<\/p>\n
We do not have an entire generation before the free trade era
\ncomes, when we will be counting most on our college graduates to
\nmake our country competitive. Our country has been known for
\nflaunting its wealth through wasteful programs. But of all the
\nwaste the country makes, wasting the talent of university
\ngraduates is the least we can afford.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wasted-talent-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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