North Maluku Pursues Education and Skills Uplift Amid Downstreaming Projects

North Maluku Governor Sherly Tjoanda has acknowledged that although the industry has opened many job opportunities, not all positions can yet be filled by North Maluku workers. She noted that some of the workforce needs in the industrial area are still met by workers from various other regions across Indonesia. Therefore, improving the quality of human resources is key to enabling more local residents to fill strategic positions in the processing industry.

“This is our homework, to increase the capacity of North Maluku’s human resources so that more local people are absorbed. Because currently, those working at IWIP in Central Halmahera still come from various parts of Indonesia,” she told CNBC Indonesia on Friday (12/6/2026).

To address this challenge, the North Maluku Provincial Government is focusing on developing vocational education and polytechnics as a primary strategy to prepare a job-ready local workforce. The provincial government is also collaborating with several leading universities in Indonesia to prepare for polytechnic development and to open new study programmes relevant to future industry needs.

The regional government is also engaging relevant ministries and industry players to align vocational education and vocational high school curricula with the demands of the working world. “So that not everyone has to wait until they graduate with a bachelor’s degree to work; there are skills that can be acquired through vocational schools, and then they are ready to work after graduating from vocational high school. That is the homework we are currently preparing,” she said.