Government strengthens competence for fresh graduates and layoff victims
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is preparing various workforce competency enhancement programmes, ranging from internships for fresh graduates and vocational programmes to retraining for individuals affected by layoffs (PHK).
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto believes that strengthening human resources (SDM) is essential to increasing national economic competitiveness amidst technological changes and evolving industrial needs.
“Indonesia actually grew by 5.45 per cent in the first semester, the highest in 13 years. Indonesia has also managed to maintain growth above 5 per cent over the last 13 years, and we have successfully kept inflation relatively low at 2.8 per cent. Consequently, the President is pushing for the strengthening of human resources,” Airlangga stated in his remarks in Jakarta on Sunday.
One of the efforts encouraged by the government is an internship programme for 120,000 to 150,000 fresh graduates to gain industrial work experience for six months. The programme is supported by government-funded wages, with a prepared budget reaching Rp4.14 trillion.
In addition to targeting university graduates, the government is also preparing vocational programmes for 200,000 vocational high school (SMK) graduates to facilitate their entry into industry. The government has allocated a budget of Rp2.12 trillion for this programme.
On the other hand, the government is also preparing retraining programmes for those affected by layoffs. This training is directed so that workers who have lost their jobs can meet the labour needs domestically or find opportunities to work abroad.
According to Airlangga, strengthening human resources is becoming increasingly important alongside technological developments, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), which is projected to bring significant changes to various economic sectors.
“AI is one of the upcoming industrial revolutions. After Industry 4.0, the focus is shifting to AI, and AI’s applications are extraordinary across various sectors. Therefore, these are some of the game changers ahead,” he said.
The government has also begun building human resource capacity to support the development of the semiconductor ecosystem through cooperation with Arm Limited, one of the leading companies in semiconductor design.
Through this collaboration, Indonesia aims for 15,000 participants to receive training to enter the semiconductor ecosystem.
Spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Haryo Limanseto, noted that human resource strengthening must be carried out sustainably, adjusting to economic developments and the needs of the working world.
According to him, collaboration between the government, universities, and the business world is vital to ensure that human resource capacity building keeps pace with industrial transformation.
“Strengthening human resources must be done sustainably by strengthening the connection between education and the industrial world. Universities should not only play a role in equipping students with knowledge but also need to ensure that graduates possess competencies relevant to the continuously evolving needs of industry,” said Haryo.