How Jakarta tackles unemployment from the grassroots
Twenty residents of Pasar Rebo did not need to visit a job training centre to learn how to brew coffee or edit videos. The training centre came to them.
From 20 July to 14 August, the yard of the Pasar Rebo District Office was transformed into a makeshift classroom, where the East Jakarta Regional Job Training Centre (PPKD) held barista and video editing training through a Mobile Training Unit (MTU) scheme.
This scheme was born not from a unilateral government initiative, but from residents’ proposals through the Development Planning Deliberation (Musrenbang) forum. Head of PPKD East Jakarta, Teguh Hendarwan, described the activity as a direct follow-up to aspirations conveyed by the community at the sub-district level.
The twenty participants came from five different sub-districts: Pekayon, Kalisari, Cijantung, Baru, and Gedong, with an equal distribution of four people from each area. Pasar Rebo District Head Mujiono confirmed the distribution was intentional to ensure the benefits of the training did not concentrate in just one area.
At the end of the training, after undergoing a competency test on 14 August, participants will receive two certificates at once: one from PPKD and one from the National Professional Certification Agency (BNSP). The BNSP certificate distinguishes this training from ordinary skills courses. It is recognised nationally as proof of work competency, allowing graduates to apply for jobs directly or to convince potential investors if they choose the entrepreneurial path.
The choice of barista and video editor as the two subjects was not without market reasoning. Data from the Indonesian Coffee Council shows more than 25,000 coffee shops are active in Indonesia in 2025, with a market value of around USD 2.1 billion and annual growth approaching 10 percent, according to a USDA report titled ‘Indonesia: Coffee Annual’. Demand for skilled baristas rises in tandem with this expansion, especially in major cities like Jakarta, a hub for modern coffee shop growth where coffee lovers are rarely absent.
Meanwhile, the dominance of short-form video content on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts is driving demand for video editing services, from individual creators and MSMEs to brands that now rely on visual content to reach consumers. Many brands and individuals request the services of content creators, often bundled into various packages. These two subjects place participants in growing sectors, rather than merely providing generic skills.