Minister Brian: Prabowo Orders Universities to Produce Talent for Strategic Industries

President Prabowo Subianto has instructed Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto to ensure that Indonesian universities produce human resources tailored to the needs of strategic industries. The directive was delivered during a limited meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, 25 June 2026. Prabowo stressed that the competence and quality of graduates are crucial factors in accelerating the downstreaming and industrial development currently being prioritised by the government. “We were asked to ensure that our human resources, our university graduates, can truly meet the manpower needs for industrial development, which is not insignificant, ranging from minerals to aquaculture, aquafarming, and downstreaming,” Brian said after the meeting. Brian stated that his ministry will map and calculate industrial manpower requirements. This step includes identifying the need for experts across various sectors so that graduate competencies are not out of step with labour market demands. According to Brian, accelerating industrialisation requires a ready workforce, both in terms of quantity and expertise. The government does not want industrial development to be disrupted by a shortage of experts or a mismatch in graduate competencies. “So, we were asked to really ensure this. We must not let the industries we are boosting and rapidly developing experience a shortage of human resources or have human resources that are unsuitable,” Brian said. He cited the need for electrical experts as one area that must be accurately calculated. “For example, we need many electrical experts, but the graduates do not match. We were asked to calculate this and ensure it can meet the needs of industrialisation,” he said. The limited meeting, which discussed the acceleration of downstreaming and human resource competencies, lasted about three hours. Besides Brian, the meeting was attended by Danantara CTO and President Director of PT Pindad Sigit P. Santosa, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya. Brian explained that the government is accelerating the development of several downstreaming sectors. These programmes include the pharmaceutical industry, the development of a national car, a national motorcycle, and other strategic sectors. “The essence is how to accelerate the downstreaming industries requested by the President together with Danantara. There are many programmes, from pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical industry development, national car development, national motorcycles, and others, so that these downstreaming programmes can be accelerated,” Brian said. Prabowo’s directive to the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology underscores the role of universities in supporting the national industrialisation agenda. Campuses are not only required to produce graduates in large numbers but also graduates with competencies relevant to priority sectors.