Wamenaker: Vocational training must broaden employment opportunities

Vocational training must produce recognised competencies that are in demand in the labour market. Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Manpower Afriansyah Noor emphasised that vocational training must have a tangible impact on increasing employment opportunities and should not merely be an administrative exercise. “Training must produce competencies that are recognised and needed by the labour market. If training does not improve employment prospects, we must improve the approach together,” the Deputy Minister said in his statement in Jakarta on Wednesday. Furthermore, he considered vocational training to be one of the effective solutions to raise the quality of human resources, provided it is conducted with clear standards, high-quality processes, and outcomes-oriented. “For this reason, vocational training must not simply be a filler activity,” the man nicknamed Ferry said. Deputy Minister Ferry added that for training to have real impact, programme planning must be based on accurate and up-to-date labour market information. In this way, the programmes held can align with the needs of business and industry. In line with this, partnerships also become the key to the effectiveness of vocational training. The Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) continues to encourage all training centres under its aegis to actively build strategic collaborations with business and industry. “We continue to urge all training centres within Kemnaker to actively forge partnerships with the business world and industry,” Deputy Minister Ferry said. In addition, he believes vocational training must be inclusive and provide equal opportunities for all segments of society. “Vocational training must open access as widely as possible, including for people with disabilities and vulnerable groups. We want everyone to have the same opportunity to improve competencies and broaden employment opportunities,” he said.