Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is focusing the implementation of the Pre-Employment (Prakerja) Card Program on providing its beneficiaries with training courses instrumental for building people's digital skills and capacity, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated.

"We are focusing on providing digital capacity-building training courses without neglecting other sectors, such as mining, which require talents that are capable of operating trucks and other heavy equipment," he remarked in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Hartarto noted that as executor of the program, the Job Creation Committee would continue to ensure balance between the people's need for digital skills and non-digital skills.

"We are maintaining balance between digital and real needs in society and industries, including in the tourism sector," he remarked.

The minister highlighted that this year, the government is targeting to produce 1.2 million alumni of the Prakerja Card Program by allocating a budget totaling Rp4.8 trillion (around US$306 million).

According to Hartarto, the government views the program as instrumental for keeping up with the steadily increasing number of job opportunities every year.

"The total number of employed workforce in Indonesia has reached 147 million, with only around 5.32 percent not having secured a job position. The Prakerja Card Program has been offering online and offline training courses for millions of people on a massive scale," he highlighted.

Hartarto's Deputy for Digital Economy, Workforce, and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, Rudy Salahuddin, noted that since its launch in April 2020 and until December 2023, the program had provided access to training courses to 17.5 million people from 514 districts and cities.

Salahuddin also remarked that the Prakerja Program had been upholding the principle of inclusiveness by serving women and persons with disabilities, adding that surveys show that the program had helped people boost their entrepreneurial, financial, and digital skills.

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Translator: Bayu S, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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