"At the moment, the government is concentrating on infrastructure development as it serves as a foundation for us to compete with other countries, which is also why a big part of the budget goes there," said President Joko Widodo, who is also called Jokowi, in Bekasi, West Java, Wednesday.
The President made the statement after handing over certificates of Apprenticeship Competency to three thousand participants of the 2017 apprenticeship program at the Center for Work Training Development (BBPLK), Bekasi, West Java.
He further stated that in order to become a developed country, Indonesia needed to concentrate on human resource development.
"To become a developed country, we cannot rely on natural resources such as coal, forest product and mineral; the key is in human resources and if our human resources can be optimized with adequate skills, it can then become our capital to compete with other countries," he remarked at the event, which was also attended by the Minister of Manpower Hanif Dhakiri, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and Minister of Education and Culture Muhadjir Effendy, as well as thousands of certificate recipients.
A total of 6,201 participants had joined the competence test for the 2017 internship program. Of these, 5,635 were deemed competent, the rest 566 have yet to pass.
"This is a real competence test, as there are those that did not pass, if they were all to pass the test, I would be suspicious," noted President Jokowi.
The President said that human resource development is vital to Indonesia`s ability to compete with other countries. Indonesia has a large human resource with a population of about 250 million people, of which 60 percent are productive young people.
"By 2040 it is estimated that the number of productive people will reach 95 million, this could be a major force, at the same time it could also become a problem," he stressed.
According to the President, this large human resource is Indonesia`s wealth and an opportunity for it to compete and win against other countries.
"If we can take advantage of our human resource, then we can be a winning nation," he said.
On the occasion, President Jokowi also asked the apprentices to give their opinion about the course and the competency test.
The certificates of apprenticeship were granted in the field of hospitality, front office, and fisheries.
Some prize winners were given bicycles, and one apprentice from the ornamental fish stream earned a monetary award from the President.
Reported by Agus Salim
(UU.KR-ARC/INE/B003
Edited by INE
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
