The Indonesian Industry Ministry is continuing to improve the capability of human resources in the metal processing industry by conducting programs in collaboration with several stakeholders.
One program is being conducted in collaboration with PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park.
“As one of the national strategic projects located in Central Halmahera district, the Industrial Human Resources Development Agency is ready to provide active support in developing industrial vocational education programs and human resources to prepare competent industrial workers,” head of the Industrial Human Resources Development Agency of the Industry Ministry, Arus Gunawan, said.
The Memorandum of Understanding for the program was signed by Gunawan and the vice president of PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park, Kevin He, in Central Halmahera district, North Maluku province.
Assistant deputy for marine and coastal spatial management at the coordinating minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Muh Rasman Manafi, was also present at the MoU signing.
Gunawan said that his administration has organized and developed a Competency-Based Industrial Vocational Equivalent Education program. In 2021, as many as 981 students from 21 regencies and cities in 11 provinces took part in the program.
The agency aims to involve as many as 1,100 students in the program in 2022.
“One of them will be carried out in collaboration with IWIP in the metal processing sector, with a total of 96 student participants divided into three study programs, comprised of welding, mineral chemistry, and electrical installation engineering,” he said.
The agency is also committed to supporting vocational programs that link and match industry and tertiary education institutions to fulfill the industrial sector needs, which have yet to be met, particularly for the metal processing sector, which is being pushed for development in industrial areas in eastern Indonesia.
“In implementing this program, (the agency) pointed the Morowali Metal Industry Polytechnic as an IWIP partner because this polytechnic has had a (good track record) in providing competent industrial human resources in the Morowali Industrial Estate, which has similarities with the Weda Bay Industrial Estate,” Gunawan added.
The notion was seconded by Manafi. He said regional development in Halamahera would not only be limited to the mining sector, but also cover the fisheries and maritime sectors.
“This will encourage significant regional economic growth,” he added.
According to data from the National Labor Force Survey, the number of people in the working-age population in Central Halmahera district in 2021 stood at 39,855.
Of the entire working-age population, 25,115 or 63.01 percent people were considered as the labor force. Of the entire workforce, there were 1,062 who were classified as unemployed.
