Upskilling of Indonesian Workers Pivotal to Triumph in Digital Era

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Around half of Indonesian workers need to upskill if they seek to keep up with an increasingly digitalized and developing labor market.

Deputy Minister of Education and Religious Moderation at the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Agus Sartono highlighted the importance of adjusting the competency of the Indonesian labor force with new technology tools to prevent workers from being left behind.

Agus cited a World Economic Forum report entitled ‘Future of Jobs Report 2020’ which states that nearly 84 percent of jobs in the world will be replaced by sophisticated machinery.

Read also: Government Wants to Raise Educational Attainment of Indonesian Labor Force

“50 percent of jobs in the world will utilize automation processes meaning that at least 50 percent of Indonesian workers require reskilling and upskilling.”

Based on the report, Agus concludes that the percentage of jobs that can be done by humans will decrease from 67 percent to 53 percent in the next five years or around 85 million people.

“What we have to understand is that the loss of jobs does not mean being unemployed rather it is the time for new opportunities.”

“In the coming five years, around 97 million new jobs utilizing a hybrid between man, machine, and computers will emerge.”

With the new challenges ahead, Agus hopes that the Indonesian labor force will begin adjusting their competency with new technologies such as in science, technology, and the internet of things.

Read also: Up to 13M Jobless Estimated in Revised Outlook on Indonesian Labor Force

The shift of reaching that end-goal has become noticeable during the coronavirus pandemic where the global health crisis significantly highlighted the impact of systems on daily life.

Agus said that in the past, daily activities were done manually and instantly but has since changed to involve online and digital tools and platforms.

(Writer: Deti Mega Purnamasari | Editor: Dani Prabowo)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/12/22/17000001/kemenko-pmk--50-persen-tenaga-kerja-butuh-peningkatan-kemampuan