Manpower Skill Development Far From Optimal

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Jobseekers attend a ceremony for the handover of certificates of competency and soft skills by Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri at the Center for Training and Development (BBPLK), Semarang city, Central Java, Tuesday (13/11/2018). Through the handover of the competency certificates, the jobseekers, who have graduated from the training center, are expected to be ready to work according to their fields and competencies in the industrial world.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS -- The quality of our manpower development is far from optimal, as seen in our 2018 Manpower Development Index of 60.81. Despite being higher than the 56.07 in 2017, this year’s score is still considered to be in the lower-middle range.

The Manpower Development Index (IPK) has been issued annually by the Manpower Ministry since 2011. Questionnaires are used in the assessment.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data quoted on Tuesday (20/11/2018) showed that Indonesia had 131.01 million people in its workforce as of August this year. Some 124.01 million Indonesians are working. Of this amount, 40.69 percent are only elementary school graduates.

Manpower Ministry secretary-general Khairul Anwar said Indonesia’s increasing national IPK score in 2018 was supported by improvements in workforce planning, employment opportunity, productivity, payment and welfare of workers and provision of social security.

The government’s focus on various infrastructure projects has created many jobs, both at central and local government bodies. At the same time, digital technology is massively developing, leading to the creation of new jobs. This is reflected in the employment opportunity indicator increase, from 8.56 in 2017 to 11.23 in 2018.

Khairul highlighted the industrial relations indicator, which had decreased from 3.16 in 2017 to 3.00 in 2018. “Digital trends lead to the creation of new jobs, but most of them are informal and lacking legal entities. Workers’ welfare based on wages has, indeed, increased,” he said. However, the rise of digital technology has brought forth a new industrial relationship, namely partnership. This is not yet accommodated in Law No. 13/2006 on manpower.

Shifts in professions

A March 2018 report by McKinsey Global, Skill Shift: Automation and the Future of the Workforce, cited automation as a major factor in the shift of workers’ skills in the past 15 years. Demand for skilled workers in technology is expected to increase by 55 percent.

Manpower Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri said fast-moving digital technology demanded a shift in workers’ skills. Skills current workers have may no longer be needed in the future. To face this challenge, the government must train workers with low levels of education to improve their skills and expertise and to give them new knowledge in line with industries’ needs.

Such moves were implemented through vocational training centers (BLK), which the government has instructed to revitalize. “I urge all regional heads to be more concerned about developing the competence of their workforces, which includes allocating special budgets for training. They must not rely on funding from the central government. They must not have the mindset of refusing to hold vocational training without funding from the central government,” Hanif said.

Currently, there are 303 BLKs in Indonesia, comprising 19 managed by the Manpower Ministry and 284 managed by regional governments.

University of Indonesia economics and business professor Rhenald Kasali said the Manpower Ministry had an important role in developing the national workforce. He said workers must be trained so that they understand new competences. (MED)