From the economic point of view, their position cannot also be neglected due to their huge number in the country`s population structure. According to Munawir Aziz (Kompas.com, 2018), their number reaches one-third of Indonesia`s population.
By definition, those belonging to the millennial generation are the ones who were born between 1980 and 2000. Therefore, Munawir Aziz (2018) argues that their ages now range from 18 to 38 years.
Given the fact that they are part of Indonesia`s main working-age population, their position is obviously getting significant.
However, not all of them can be employed in both the government and private sectors due to limited availability of job opportunities.
Thus, convincing, encouraging, educating, training, and facilitating them to be entrepreneurs are believed to be a rational solution for Indonesia.
The millennial generation needs to be assisted to establish their own startups amid the world`s economic slowdown that affects lots of countries, including Indonesia.
In helping those of this millennial generation prepare for entering the business sector by having and running their own businesses, the related ministries, universities, and companies have been providing them with entrepreneurship training programs.
A talkshow on how to provide digital platforms for products of small and medium enterprises is, for instance, also held on the sideline of the 35th International Council of Women General Assembly in Yogyakarta on Sunday.
Mayor of East Java city of Surabaya Tri Rismaharini has even taken concrete measures for preparing people, including those of the millennial generation, for getting ready for entering the business sector.
They are also assisted to prepare themselves for being able to compete with their colleagues from other countries at regional and international levels in this digital era.
In order to have such a tough, capable, and independent young generation, since 2010, the Surabaya city administration has initiated various programs for boosting the city`s economic stability and development to make it globally competitive.
One of the action programs that the city administration has seriously implemented is closely related to the empowerment of women to enable them to become the heroines of economy and young fighters, she said recently at an occasion in Surabaya.
In this context, having readiness in whatever necessary in winning the global competition, including best quality products, mentality, good ways of communications, needs to be all related parties` primary concerns.
"I want our children to be successful and independent. We create our own jobs without relying on other people," Tri Rismaharini said.
For this purpose, youngsters residing in Surabaya should well be trained to enable them to contribute to Indonesia`s demographic bonus, and to compete with those from outside the country at global level in 2020.
"From now on, the children of Surabaya must well be prepared to enable them to be tough and excellent in all fields. If not, there will be a demographic disaster."
The economic challenges that the Indonesian youths, including those from Surabaya, would undergo in 2020 demand high skills. Therefore, they should be excellent not only at the Asian level but also at the global level, she said.
The achievements that Surabaya-initiated "Heroes/Heroines of Economy and Young Fighters" program has gained are recognized by Policy Associate at the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Sarolta Borzasi during her recent visit to the city.
What Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini has been doing for her city`s residents has given a concrete contribution to Indonesia`s endeavors to improve the quality of its working-age citizens.
The demands and challenges of the era of disruption are obvious for the Indonesian millennial generation amid the fact that the quality of the country`s human resources varies.
As the world`s fourth most populous country, Indonesia has yet to be able to put itself into the list of the world`s most literate nations. John W.Miller`s study (CCSU, 2016) shows that Indonesia ranked 60th out of 61 countries.
Indonesia`s rank was just better than that of Botswana but the former was far left behind by Singapore (36) and Malaysia (53). This is a common challenge that Indonesia needs to respond so quickly that its millennial generation gains a brighter future.
Editing by Bambang Purwanto
Reporter: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
