VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has stated that the country's high unemployment rate and low competitive edge are the result of the people's unpreparedness to adapt to changes in the job market and industry.

"The unemployment rate is high and the competitive edge is low, due in part to the lack of preparedness to adapt to changes, with the disruption following them," he said at a national get-together on vocation and entrepreneurship at Cipasung Islamic boarding school in Singaparna, Tasikmalaya, West Java, on Tuesday.

Indonesia’s unemployment rate continues to increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of unemployed people reached 19.1 million.

In the meantime, the working age population continues to increase and the number of people who have received job training is very small, he said.

For this reason, the vice president added, speed, accuracy and efficiency are needed to lay an important foundation for the creation of the excellent human resources that are needed to compete with other countries in the current era of digital technology.

The concrete challenges to the labor force is how to prepare excellent human resources, capable of facing the issues arising from digital technology, including big data, artificial intelligent and the internet of things, he said.
To create a reliable labor force, regional governments, private parties, academics, social organizations and religious institutions must take an active role, along with the central government, he said.

"The government cannot work alone. It needs the participation of regional governments, state-owned companies, private parties, institutes of higher learning, social organizations, and religious institutes, such as Islamic boarding schools, all over the country," he said. (Antaranews)