Jakarta (ANTARA) - Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah stated that the transformation of Job Training Centers (BLK) by her side is part of the efforts to reduce the skills gap between employers and job seekers.

"Job training must be able to respond to the needs of the job market. Therefore, we carry out transformations in BLK," she remarked while opening the National Dialogue in Jakarta on Tuesday.

According to the minister, BLK transformation is carried out in the form of connecting and matching so as to link and match the needs of employers with job seekers. This was followed by a Communication Forum between Training Institutions and Industry (FKLPI) that took place in vocational centers.

The minister noted that FKLPI is a forum to connect Job Training Institutions, especially BLKs, and the industry by considering the regional economic potential, developments in the world of business and technology, and regional development policies in which BLKs operate.

"From the forum, we can learn the needs of the business world and the industrial world. We can then invite the business world and the industrial world to jointly design training to suit their needs," Fauziyah remarked.

The minister highlighted that the urgency to overcome the global skills gap is increasingly high. Population aging, globalization, climate change, and digitalization are contributing to the skills gap in society.

Fauziyah addressed that a skills gap will lead to low productivity, high worker turnover, and a lack of innovation.

"Eventually, this will impact through creating socio-economic uncertainty, such as increasing living costs and a social crisis," she pointed out.

In an effort to strengthen vocational training centers, the Ministry of Manpower is also collaborating with USAID Partnerships for Productivity (PADU).

USAID Mission Director Jeffery P. Cohen also welcomed this collaboration. He said that Indonesia, with a large workforce belonging to the productive age group, needs to be supported in the manpower sector, as it will have a huge impact on economic growth in future.

"The collaboration is not merely about the US and Indonesian governments. This collaboration must be able to bring together civil society, especially the young people, to gain the skills needed for the future economy," he emphasized.

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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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