RI, S'pore cooperate on human resources
RI, S'pore cooperate on human resources
JAKARTA (JP): Singaporean and Indonesian experts, identifying
a number of common problems in their human resource management,
suggested cooperation at all layers of society in the two
countries.
Umar Juoro of Indonesia's Center for Information and
Development Studies and Mohd. Ismail Shariff of the Association
of Moslem Professionals of Singapore pinpointed specific areas
of cooperation to solve human resource development problems in a
discussion yesterday.
Shariff, said that Singapore's Malay and Moslem professionals
can play a bridging role and provide linkages with relevant
training institutions between the two countries.
The fact that there is a "language and cultural affinity"
because of common ethnic and religious background provides a
bonus for cooperative efforts, he pointed out.
Both men were speakers at the two-day Conference on Indonesia-
Singapore: Cooperation for Competitiveness in a Changing World.
Each explored the various problems of human resource problems
faced by their countries, and found some common ones that could
be solved together.
Juoro identified the major weak spot of Indonesian human
resource development as an education system which fails to
produce a qualified and trained labor force.
"Education does not produce graduates who are ready to work,"
Juoro told dozens of experts, officials and entrepreneurs
participating in the conference which ended yesterday.
In addition, there are the low level of investment in human
resource development, reluctance of educated people to work in
the manufacturing sector due to the low income and status, as
well as disproportionate absorption of graduates into the
government sector.
"Despite the high economic growth, the anticipated shifts in
the sectoral distribution of the labor force didn't take place,"
Juoro said.
The agricultural sector labor force remains large at 46
percent, contributing 17.6 percent to Indonesia's GDP of US$ 651
billion. The manufacturing sector only absorbed 13 percent of the
workforce in 1994, contributing 21.1 percent to GDP.
Finally, there is also a problem of "education mismatch",
Juoro said. The qualifications of college and university
graduates do not equip them for the jobs desired and may be
irrelevant to the needs of industries, he pointed out.
Singapore, Shariff said, also faces a number of human
resources development problems. "The crucial question for
Singapore is how to upgrade our low-skilled workers to match
future demands," Shariff said.
He suggested that cooperation take place between the
governments and privately managed training institutions. (swe)