Unemployed graduates
The government has again expressed great concern over the increasing number of educated people, including university graduates, among Indonesia's unemployed ranks. And, as in the past, whenever the issue of the educated unemployed surfaces, the government stresses the need for further educational reform. Minister of Information Harmoko, who explained the unemployment problem after the monthly limited cabinet session on the economy Wednesday, also repeated the government's old plans on incentives for the generation of self-employment.
The increasing number of high school and university graduates who are seeking jobs but are unemployed should indeed raise great concerns. These graduates, different from the jobless with only primary schooling, obviously do not accept their fate or condition as the act of God. They tend to be more vocal in airing their disillusionment. Because their aspirations and expectations are usually much higher than those of their fellow villagers, they mostly prefer the urban areas, where the competition for jobs is more fierce and the chance for them to land jobs is very slim.
Unemployed graduates of high schools and universities also represent a waste of resources, as the government has invested a a lot in their education. In the meantime, the capital costs of starting up investment ventures are made higher than those in other countries because of the great difficulties in getting skilled manpower. Investors are forced to spend a great deal to get qualified workers.
The government, however, has yet to work out concrete programs to cope with the problem. Both the ministers of manpower and education and culture have, over the past few years, often talked about what they call "link and match" between education and manpower needs. But we have not yet seen any coordinated efforts which are effective for linking the educational and vocational systems with the business sector.
The government has yet to set up a body which will function as a focal point for the development of nationally identified and agreed on competency standards which would provide a bridge between the industry and vocational training and the education system. Such a body is required to oversee mutual recognition of training activities in relation to accreditation of courses, credit transfers, recognition of prior learning and certification of individuals. Without such standardization and recognition, the numerous non-degree vocational schools or institutes which have been mushrooming over the past few years are poised to increase the number of academic graduates with unmarketable trades or skills.
The linkage between the educational system and the business sector should be supported by an extensive apprenticeship system to provide the trainees with a combination of on-the-job training in a factory and theoretical education in school. A well- organized apprenticeship system is mutually beneficial because both the trainees and the potential employer share in the training and educational costs. It has the potential to be sustainable because the market mechanism is applied to the trainees, schools and employers. Such a system also will ease the pains and problems usually occurring in the transition between school and work.
Minister Harmoko also talked about incentives for university graduates to create self-employment. We are still uncertain about what he meant by incentives, but the most glaring problem faced in the marketplace is related to the great difficulties in starting up small businesses.
Many university graduates intending to start up businesses of their own are already discouraged at the outset, as they find themselves bogged down in the maze of regulatory processing of numerous permits. Hence, the most important incentive should be the easing and simplification of permits for starting up small enterprises, both in the rural and urban areas.