Firms asked to aid apprentices

Firms asked to aid apprentices

JAKARTA (JP): Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Museno has
invited both government institutions and private companies to
join the city apprenticeship program, which aims to provide high
school students with work experience during their holidays.

"I hope more institutions and companies will be willing to
accept as many students as possible so as to avoid a waiting list
like that encountered during an earlier program," Museno said
yesterday.

He said that, as the number of students continues to increase,
employers' willingness to temporarily employ the young people
would be warmly welcomed.

Over 25,000 students have registered for the program, which
was introduced for the first time in 1989 during the school
holiday season. This year the program will be held between June
19 and July 15.

Museno said the city administration fully supports the program
because, he said, it gives students a chance to apply what they
learn at school in the "real world".

"This program is very positive, especially for students whose
parents do not arrange for them to spend the holidays with their
relatives," Museno said.

Kusnan Ismukanto, head of the Jakarta branch of the education
and culture ministry, said 27 government institutions and 15
private companies had agreed to participate in the program.

"Unfortunately, this number is not enough to accommodate all
the students who have registered for the program and I am still
waiting for others," Kusnan said, adding that the office still
had the waiting list, consisting of 4,000 names, from the program
in the February holiday season.

"The students on that list will be given priority for the next
holiday program," he said.

Kusnan explained most students were interested in the
apprenticeship program because it gave them a chance to work and
to earn some money.

"The institutions most popular with the students (who
participate in the program) are department stores because, apart
from receiving some payment, there is also a possibility that
they will receive permanent employment in the stores after they
have finished school," Kusnan said.

Happily, executives of the Indonesian Retailers Association,
which groups large department stores, have said they intend to
take part in the program.

"The association estimates that it can accommodate about 7,500
students in its member stores," Kusnan said, adding that in
Jakarta alone the association has 29 members. (yns)