The government discussed a plan to establish a vocational education committee that would manage a number of matters related to the subject.

"We have reviewed and discussed establishing a committee to manage all matters relating to vocational education," Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani said after a meeting with President Joko Widodo at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.

The senior minister remarked that a number of related ministers would discuss the formation of the committee during a follow-up meeting.

The committee was intended to increase the capabilities of human resources in Indonesian and to accelerate their development.

"The training is focused in accordance with Indonesia's future needs," the minister said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono pointed out that President Joko Widodo expected vocational education to be more widespread.

"President Joko Widodo wants more focused trainings in ministries and institutions," he remarked.

He stated that President Joko Widodo urged Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro to plan the development of vocational education.

The committee will become a coordinating body and oversee vocational training programs in each ministry or institution.  (ANTARA)

The industry ministry hopes that the Industrial 4.0 system unleashes opportunities for Indonesia to become an Internet of Things (IoT) business ecosystem to fortify the structure of digital technology to apply the fourth industrial revolution.

Furthermore, Indonesia will evolve into an IoT business ecosystem worth Rp444 trillion in 2022.

"The opportunity for Indonesia to become an IoT ecosystem is huge. This potential can also be gauged from the number of internet users in the country, reaching over 140 million people. Essentially, the transformation to Industry 4.0 is the key to the success of Indonesia's future development,'' Director of the Electronics and Telematics Industry of the Ministry of Industry R. Janu Suryanto noted in Jakarta, Tuesday.

Suryanto opined that implementing Industry 4.0 will additionally promote greater investment by firms, particularly those related to the utilization of the latest technology, such as IoT.

The step is expected to facilitate greater productivity and competitiveness in the manufacturing sector and give rise to an innovation ecosystem.

"Hence, Indonesia should not only become a market for digital economy but also capitalize on digital economic development to drive industrial growth and competitiveness," he noted.

IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), human-machine interfaces, robotic technology and sensors, and 3D printing technology are the five key technologies supporting the development of the Industrial 4.0 system.

Suryanto elaborated that applying Industry 4.0 aimed at automating and digitizing the production process, with a discernible rise in connectivity, interaction, and boundaries between humans, machines, and other increasingly convergent resources through information and communication technology.

"Digitalizing the industrial sector will usher in changes for the manufacturing system, influenced by the wave of new technology," he stated.

In this scenario, for instance, the production section will experience a change brought about by customer-oriented technology.

Moreover, the technology offers opportunities for production systems and flexible new business models.

To optimize the utilization of the most up-to-date technology, spotting new skills is deemed paramount. To this end, efforts should be directed towards improving the capacity of industrial human resources.

"In this era of transformation, the government has been endeavoring to ready qualified human resources to meet the requirements of Industry 4.0," he pointed out.

The positive growth of the processing industry during the first quarter of 2019 has propped up the country's economic growth during the period to reach 5.07 percent, the head of the Central Bureau of Statistic (BPS) Suhariyanto said.   

"The processing industry has grown positively with the support of the food and beverage, textile and garments, tobacco processing, paper and paper products industries," Suhariyanto said in Jakarta on Monday.

However, the growth of the industry at 3.86 percent was less than the growth during the same period last year, which was recorded at 4.6 percent.

The growth of the food and beverage, textile and garment, as well as paper and paper products industries was supported by the increased production of crude palm oil (CPO), and high demand ahead of Ramadhan and Eid al-Fitr, and the general election.

"The growth of the tobacco processing industry was supported by the increased local and international demand," Suhariyanto remarked.

The processing industry has made the largest contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2019 at 20.07 percent, followed by the trade sector at 13.20 percent, and agriculture at 12.65 percent.

The trade sector grew 5.26 percent, higher than the previous year's growth at 4.99 percent, with the contribution of automotive and spare parts sales, logistics for campaign, and the sale of domestic goods.

The agriculture sector grew at 1.81 percent, lower than the growth in the first quarter of 2018 at 3.34 percent, with the contribution of the increased production of commodities such as palm oil, tea and coffee.

In the business sector, corporate services showed the highest growth at 10.36 percent, followed by other services at 9.99 percent, and information and communication at 9.03 percent. (ant)

Bank Indonesia (BI) has stated that the country's economic performance in the first quarter of 2019 remained positive, although the global economic growth fell short of expectations.  

"The slow growth was inseparable from the impact of the seasonal pattern early this year, as well as the lower-than-expected global economic growth," Executive Director of BI Communication Department Onny Widjanarko said in a written statement released on Monday.

BI believed the country's economic growth in the first quarter of 2019, which stood at 5.07 percent year-on-year (yoy), was good, he said.

The economic performance indicated that the momentum of national economic growth could consistently be maintained although it slowed down compared to the fourth quarter of 2018 when it was recorded at 5.18 percent (year on year, yoy ). The economic growth of 5.18 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 was chiefly fueled by domestic demand. The domestic demand remained high due to consumption by non-profit institutions serving households (LNPRT) and household consumption.

The LNPRT consumption in the first quarter of 2019 rose to 16.93 percent (yoy) from 10.79 percent (yoy) in the previous quarter, fueled by consumption related to the 2019 general elections.

Household consumption growth in the first quarter of 2019, which reached 5.01 percent (yoy), also remained steady although it slowed down compared to the previous quarter when it was 5.08 percent (yoy). The good performance of household consumption was supported by controllable inflation, the public's improving income and consumer confidence. The domestic demand was also fueled by high investment growth in the development sector.

The net export performance was positive due to a shortfall in the country's imports amidst the declining exports, in line with the global economic slowdown and low global commodity prices.

Looking ahead, BI will continue to maintain macroeconomic stability and contribute to economic growth. The combined policies of the central bank, the government, and the relevant authorities will be strengthened to maintain the momentum of economic growth, he said. BI has predicted the national economy will grow 5.0-5.4 percent this year. (ant)