Deputy Minister: MSMEs Are a 'Giant' Engine for Job Creation

Magelang (ANTARA) - Deputy Manpower Minister Afriansyah Noor affirmed that micro, small, and medium enterprises (UMKM) are now one of the main drivers of the national economy as well as an increasingly strategic provider of employment.

Opening the Job Fair 2026 in Magelang on Tuesday, the Deputy Minister urged the younger generation not to focus solely on working for large companies, but also to seize the career opportunities offered by the MSME sector.

He said MSMEs have often been viewed as a second option when someone has failed to secure a job at a large company. In fact, he noted, MSMEs are workplaces capable of shaping human resources that are creative, adaptable, and able to overcome a wide range of challenges.

“As someone involved in the world of employment, I want to convey that there is currently an economic giant thriving around us, yet it is often looked down upon. That giant is the MSME sector,” he said.

He said MSMEs are no longer merely an alternative, but genuine places of work where one can build a career in remarkable ways.

According to him, working in the MSME sector encourages workers to be more creative and adaptable amid various limitations. Such experience serves as an important foundation for improving the competence and competitiveness of human resources.

He said the future of Indonesia’s economy rests not only on a handful of large companies, but also on millions of MSMEs operating nimbly across the regions, serving as the backbone of the community economy.

To jobseekers, particularly the younger generation, he advised them not to be discouraged if they have yet to secure an opportunity at a large company.

“If the doors of the big companies have not yet opened today, do not consider yourself a failure. Keep improving yourself, because opportunities will always come to those who keep striving,” he said.