Govt turns to private sector for 'link and match'

Govt turns to private sector for 'link and match'

JAKARTA (JP): The government has again called on employers to participate in its efforts to match school education with the requirements of industry, offering companies tax cuts and other incentives in exchange for their involvement.

Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro said yesterday that, of the 10,000 large companies operating in Indonesia, only a handful have provided students with the called- for periods of internship or apprenticeship.

"We will provide participating companies with tax cuts and other facilities," he said.

He said it was urgent for Indonesia to prepare its work force to enter the era of industrialization. One of the means to achieve that objective is the ministry's "link and match" scheme, he added.

Under the program, companies are requested to provide students with some workplace experience so that, when they graduate, they will be equipped with necessary skills to enter the work force.

The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have signed a cooperation agreement, under which the Chamber's members will provide vocational school students with opportunities to be trained in relevant skills.

Wardiman said that, because of the lack of training centers and funds, only 63,000 of the 1.4 million students of state and private vocational schools have been recruited to participate in the program.

"Industry should continue to...provide opportunities for the remaining 1.3 million students to benefit from the link and match program," he said.

"We don't have any other alternatives. The private sector should participate in the education program...which not only benefits students and workers, but also industry and the government as well," he added.

Given the objectives of the scheme, companies should see it as natural that they be requested to "set aside some of the profits they are making to finance the program", Wardiman said.

The minister was speaking at the closing ceremony of the third Asian Toyota Technicians' Skills Grand Prix. The event was a contest of skill among technicians from eight Asian countries. Indonesia's technicians gained first place yesterday.

Wardiman said that it is important for Indonesia, if it wishes to survive in international competition, to develop educational programs which are in line with industrial requirements.

"We need this approach to enter the country's industrialization era," he said. "We need quality human resources to carry out the industrialization program. Otherwise, we will lose in international competition."

He said the "low quality" of current university graduates was due to the fact that, in the past, educational matters and programs were not linked up with those of the world of work.

"We wouldn't have faced the current problem of unemployment, had we implemented the link and match concept in our education system earlier," he said.

"Our system of education system is good and applicable. What is wrong is the way we are implementing it," he said, pointing out that many schools are operating without an adequate number of quality teachers and education facilities.

"How can a school produce skilled graduates if it doesn't have quality human resources and adequate education facilities?" he asked. (rms)