Kemnaker: Practical Skills Are Essential for Entering the Workforce
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) has stressed the importance of vocational graduates mastering practical competencies so they can meet the needs of the workforce.
“Today, employers do not just ask about a person’s school, but focus more on their skills. Companies recruit people not to see where they graduated from, but to assess whether they have the competencies that are genuinely needed. That is why these competencies are something we must prepare,” Kemnaker Secretary-General Cris Kuntadi said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.
Cris said that, in addition to technical skills, vocational workers needed to build character, gain experience and master digital technology to face the workforce’s evolving challenges.
He added that vocational graduates should prepare four essential attributes to contribute and make a positive impact at work: competence, character, experience and collaboration.
Cris explained that academic achievement needed to be backed by evidence of ability that could be presented to employers.
“This can be demonstrated through completed projects, a portfolio of work, hands-on field experience and official certification recognising the skills acquired,” he said.
Alongside technical competencies, Cris highlighted the importance of digital literacy and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
These capabilities needed to be developed so vocational graduates could adapt to technological advances and changing workforce requirements.
Kemnaker has also introduced SIAPKerja, a digital employment services ecosystem comprising SkillHub, MagangHub, SertiHub, KarirHub, BizHub and Talent Innovation Hub.
“These services have been introduced to support skills development and preparation for entering the workforce,” Cris said.
Meanwhile, Makassar Aviation Polytechnic Director Sukarwoto said that preparing excellent, skilled and globally competitive transport-sector human resources was key to realising the Golden Indonesia 2045 vision.
“To achieve this, synergy between the government, educational institutions and businesses is needed to ensure graduates have competencies that match the needs of the professional world,” Sukarwoto said.