High economic growth is not just a number that continues to increase, it must also be accompanied by sustainable and continuous growth, he added.
"The most important thing is job creation, of course, quality jobs. That is the most important thing because our biggest homework is job creation," he said at the Fortune Indonesia Summit 2025 in Jakarta on Thursday.
He noted that in two years, the population of Indonesia has increased by almost 5 million, and the figure is climbing.
With the increasing population, he added, it is necessary to grow jobs. Therefore, investment is needed to absorb 2.6 million to 2.8 million people per year.
The investment sector in Indonesia currently contributes around 25–26 percent to national economic growth. This investment contribution is expected to continue to increase with the strengthening of human resources (HR).
Based on data from the Manpower Ministry, of the total 141 million people of working age in Indonesia, 40 percent have only received an elementary education, 24 percent attended elementary school but did not graduate, 18 percent completed junior high school, and only 12–13 percent hold a diploma or bachelor's degree.
According to Roeslani, the government realizes that not all people can gain entry into college. Therefore, it is also encouraging vocational education training by providing incentives to companies to participate in the program.
With quality HR, job opportunities would increasingly become wide open.
"If Indonesia wants to have sustainable and continuous growth, its people must also grow. Its human resources must develop, its human capital must also develop, so that Indonesia can have sustainable and continuous growth and quality," the minister said.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia Galuh Prayudhia, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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