Retraining important, Wardiman says

Retraining important, Wardiman says

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
Djojonegoro emphasized yesterday the importance of giving
graduates access to retraining to meet the very dynamic needs of
modern occupations.

"All graduates should be prepared to be retrained to catch up
with the latest developments in their fields," he said at the
graduation ceremony for 190 new masters of business
administration at the business school of the Institute for
Management Education and Development's School of Management.

He said that work structures are always changing due to the
rapid development of technology. "Currently, the time between a
technological discovery and its application is getting shorter.
This will continue to change our production systems," he noted.

Schools for professionals, he said, should be able to train
their students to both master a special skill and learn new
methods, and encourage their students to become entrepreneurs.

Asked about the complaints of many foreign and local
businessmen about the shortage of professionals in the country,
he said the link and match program should be pursued by the
professional schools.

This is designed to tailor the education system to the
public's needs.

"With the link and match program we can improve our national
productivity and competitive edge to face the forthcoming
regional free trade," he said.

Businessmen claim that the shortage of qualified professionals
forces them to hire foreigners or poach experienced professionals
from other companies, although they have to pay them higher
salaries.

Enggartiasto Lukita, former chairman of Real Estate Indonesia
and a commissioner of PT Bangun Cipta Pratama said that the
shortage is particularly felt at the middle-management level.

"I think the government should give further tax incentives to
companies for organizing training for workers," he said.

Asked about possible tax incentives, Wardiman said that the
government was still discussing the subject but was hopeful that
they would be given.

"The government will finally give them. It's only a matter of
time," he said. (13)