Industry Minister stresses workforce planning in Gresik industrial zone

Gresik (ANTARA) – Industry Minister Muhammad Sarmuji stressed the importance of local governments planning and developing their workforces to meet labour needs in industrial zones, particularly in Gresik.

“Local workers account for 70 per cent of the workforce at PT Xinyi in the Java Integrated Industrial & Port Estate Special Economic Zone, or JIIPE,” he told reporters after inspecting operations at PT Xinyi Glass Indonesia in the JIIPE zone, Gresik regency, East Java, on Friday.

He said the proportion of local workers could be increased further. Sarmuji said he believed it could reach 100 per cent if local governments prepared skilled workers with the competencies required by industries in the Gresik JIIPE zone.

“We hope that progress in employing local workers will continue to improve,” he said. “The more productive and skilled the workforce, the more it will support a factory’s productivity and determine its international competitiveness.”

The JIIPE zone, which has been operating for about four years, has also helped boost the economy of Gresik regency, in addition to creating jobs for local residents.

One of the companies visited by Sarmuji was PT Xinyi Glass Indonesia, which manufactures various types of glass. Its products have been exported to 45 countries, making a substantial contribution to state revenues.

“Only around 20 per cent of its raw materials cannot yet be sourced domestically,” Sarmuji said. One of the materials still imported is soda ash, or sodium carbonate.

Sarmuji said PT Petrokimia Gresik had recently established a soda ash plant. “Once the soda ash plant is operating, I will speak with PT Petrokimia Gresik so that PT Xinyi, the glass manufacturer, can use its output,” he said.