Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Switzerland have successfully worked together to develop competent human resources (HR) in the industrial sector through the establishment of the Banten Petrochemical Industry Polytechnic, the Industry Ministry has said.

The first lecture at the polytechnic will begin on September 19, 2022.

The collaboration between the two countries has also been realized through the Skills for Competitiveness (S4C) project.

"We are grateful to the S4C team who have supported since the beginning in the preparation of the founding document, the preparation of the curriculum, to the determination of the equipment layout at this polytechnic by collaborating with several polytechnics of the Ministry of Industry," head of the ministry’s Industrial Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMI), Arus Gunawan, said in a statement issued in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Switzerland is one of the countries that has consistently provided support for vocational education in Indonesia. Through the S4C or Swisscontact project, Switzerland has collaborated in various activities to help prepare competent Indonesian human resources.

Every year, around 1.7 million young Indonesians join the workforce.

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This year, Gunawan said, S4C has also supported the implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System, which would be gradually implemented at all education and training units of the Industry Ministry.

"The implementation of the program includes First-Aid Training in Psychological Disorders of Consolidating Safety-Based Behavior, which has been held at the Bantaeng Manufacturing Industry Community Academy, Kendal Wood Processing and Furniture Industry Polytechnic, and Morowali Metal Industry Polytechnic in mid-2022," he informed.

In addition, the ministry and S4C are collaborating to build a Career Development Center, or CDC, which will become an integrated system for fostering student careers from the beginning of school till graduation.

The CDC is being built to carry out measurable and accountable monitoring and evaluation of students and alumni.

According to Gunawan, CDC is a forum for compiling a portfolio of competencies, specializations, and mapping graduate profiles.

As a result, there will be complete and uniform data to support student career paths.

"This system will be connected to the program monitoring and evaluation system from the Presidential Staff Office," Gunawan explained.

S4C will continue its commitment to support vocational education in Indonesia.

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Translator: Sella P, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
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