6,000 firms offer apprenticeships to technical schools

6,000 firms offer apprenticeships to technical schools

JAKARTA (JP): Some 6,000 small and medium companies have
agreed to offer apprenticeships to students of vocational high
schools to help bridge the gap between the education and working
worlds.

The pledge was made before Minister of Education and Culture
Wardiman Djojonegoro when he met with leaders of the Indonesian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) on Friday at the Jakarta
Hilton Convention Center.

"We are very grateful for their participation," an elated
Wardiman said. "What is more impressive is that most of them are
small and medium-sized companies."

The apprenticeship program is part of Wardiman's "link and
match" plan which he initiated in response to criticism that the
education system had been unable to supply people qualified to
meet the strict requirements of the industrial world.

The apprenticeship program at technical schools will be phased
in during the current 1994/95 school year which began in July.
Some 247 vocational schools have been listed for the program.

Under the system, students will spend part of their studies
working at the companies.

Wardiman on Friday installed the National Vocational Education
Council which will oversee the implementation of the
apprenticeship program. Kadin chairman Aburizal Bakrie was
appointed to head the council whose members include education
officials and business leaders.

The council's tasks include formulating policies regarding the
apprenticeship and training program, examinations, certification
and also channeling the graduates and mobilizing support.

Also on Friday, the Association of Indonesian Hotels and
Restaurants (PHRI) formally joined in the apprenticeship program,
following other associations in Kadin.

PHRI Chairman Ponco Sutowo acknowledged that hotels and
restaurants, unlike manufacturing industries, rely heavily on
skilled manpower.

"The apprenticeship program will be very beneficial for PHRI
members because we will no longer have to provide theory to
newcomers," Ponco said. "Previously we had to train them and
teach them theory, now we only need to provide training."

Complaints

Wardiman said he has often heard complaints from the business
community about the lack of competence of vocational school
graduates.

While the cost of attending these schools is three to four
times higher than ordinary high schools, the graduates rarely
meet the high quality demanded by industries. In the end, the
general public tends to look down on them, he said.

He said most vocational schools did not have the money to buy
the machinery, equipment and laboratories they need.

"In some vocational schools, one lathe is surrounded by four
students, so one student does the work and the other three just
watch ... but all four will receive the same certificate of
competence," Wardiman said.

The apprenticeship program with Kadin could remedy this
shortcoming, he said.

Aburizal said Indonesia must not rely on cheap labor to
attract foreign investors in the future.

"I think the link and match concept is just what we need to
meet the demand for high-quality employment. Science should not
be explored for the sake of science itself. Instead it should be
used to develop the nation," he said.(pwn)