Halfway through the first month of the year, a number of government organisations are making the shift to digital transformation a priority even as global economies continue to grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Asia, economies are injecting fresh stimuli to various sectors. One of them is Indonesia which has been making strides in improving operations through innovation.
According to a statement, the Ministry of Industry is re-strategising and putting technology at the core of its operational framework this year. Integrated within this strategic programme is the 3-in-1 Education and Training event which reflects the government’s goal of propping up the industrial workforce to meet the growing demand for products and services. This is alongside efforts to stem the unemployment rate and increase the competence of human resources.
Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita explained during the virtual kick-off for the education and training event that they are looking at improving three pillars of economic growth –investment, human resources and technology. The Minister believes that of the three, human resource development and digital technology must be taken advantage of to sustain the growth momentum of the industrial sector under the Making Indonesia 4.0 roadmap.
This initiative is in line with the government’s plans to improve the manufacturing and industrial sectors under the Making Indonesia blueprint. To achieve this goal, Indonesia has been actively scoring investments across various industries. As cited earlier by OpenGov Asia, it is looking at encouraging global tech giants to invest in its digital economy and its electric vehicle industry as these firms start to look for new investment locations.
Investing in human resource development
To comply with this roadmap, the workforce must learn how to adapt quickly and be able to implement the technology. The Minister noted: “[It] is necessary to provide basic skills, increase skills (up-skilling) or update skills (re-skilling) for workers based on the needs of the industrial world today.”
This is where the 3-in-1 training curriculum comes in as an initial step towards harnessing certain skills from the workforce that can help cater to industry needs. The Minister added: “The implementation of training starting from curriculum preparation. [L]earning practices to job placements have been carried out in collaboration with industrial companies and industry associations.”
The training focuses not only on disseminating information about technology and human resource management. The Minister emphasised that it can be used to deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is done by reducing the number of employee layoffs in the industrial sector by improving their skills and making them more competent.
He mentioned: “With the availability of competent industrial workers, it is hoped that industrial utilisation can increase again. In December 2020, industrial utilisation began to crawl at the level of 61.1%, which previously decreased by around 50% due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The Ministry anticipates that conducting the training will provide startup enterprises within the industrial sector added knowledge and expertise in the field which they can use to improve their operations.
The kick-off was well attended and had over 6,000 participants across 14 provinces and 52 districts. It likewise involved 101 industrial companies and 20 district offices. Training for machine operation, food safety and production equipment for processed food were held. Training regarding innovative quality control processes and animation procedures were also conducted.
Pursuant to Circular No 7 of 2020 earlier released by the Ministry, an Operating Licence Mobility Industrial Activity was launched to streamline manufacturing operations for public health emergencies. As of writing, the Ministry has introduced more than 18,000 mobility activities expected to improve the competency of 5.13 million workers.