ILO helps tsunami victims find jobs

ILO helps tsunami victims find jobs

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Banda Aceh, NAD

In the space of two weeks over 3,000 job seekers in Banda Aceh
have registered with an employment service center jointly set up
by the ILO and the Indonesian government.

The number of people joining the service will likely increase
in coming weeks as the center plans to also make people outside
Banda Aceh eligible to register for jobs, said a senior official
at the International Labor Organization (ILO).

"The center, which was set up two weeks ago, is aimed at
helping victims of the tsunami find jobs," said Peter van Rooij,
an ILO senior program officer.

The center, called the Employment Service for People of
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province (Epsnad), was jointly
established by ILO and the Aceh provincial labor agency.

The establishment of such a center is of high importance as
many Acehnese lost their jobs after the tsunami struck the
province on Dec. 26 last year. Rooij said that at least 600,000
people had lost their jobs.

The 3,000 people were registered after the center placed
advertisements in newspapers, camps and public places inviting
selected skill groups to come to the center. Carpenters,
bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, glazers, tilers, and
painters have been invited to register, said Rooij.

Using information in it's developing database, the center is
expected to be able to analyze labor market trends and
identify any shortages. The center will help channel people on
the center's list to get jobs that pertain to their expertise and
background.

He said that the center had identified 2,289 skilled people
from all over the province for permanent placement and 580 for
casual work.

Rooij said that the center would provide two kinds of training
to enable people find jobs. "The first training is vocational,
including English or carpentry skills, while the second course is
on how they can start up their own business," he said.

Rooij said that to enable people to start and maintain their
own businesses, they will be provided with micro-finance for
microbusinesses as well as credit for small to medium enterprises
(SMEs).

Ali, 24, a resident of Simpang Surabaya who used to work on a
construction project, said that he had filled in a form at the
center, and hoped to get a job soon.

"They said they would contact me as soon as there was a job
available for me," he told The Jakarta Post.