Bonifasius Wahyu Pudjianto, Head of the Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDM) at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, said AI applications have now penetrated various fields, from device features and language translation to health diagnostics.
"We have calculated the need for digital talent, particularly over the next five years until 2030. According to consulting firm Kearney, the demand reaches 600,000 people annually, while our estimate is 453,000 per year," he said at Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, on Thursday.
He contrasted the shortage of digital professionals with the blue-collar labor sector, where job applicants far outnumber available positions.
"For example, the Jakarta government opened around 1,000–1,500 vacancies, but the number of applicants reached tens of thousands," he said.
Pudjianto emphasized that students must be prepared to fill the gap, particularly in the AI field, to prevent foreign workers from dominating the sector.
"We must indeed shift from blue-collar to white-collar jobs. That is not easy, but we hope students will take this opportunity. If not, neighboring countries will fill the digital talent gap," he said.
The ministry is working with Brawijaya University on the AI Talent Factory program, designed to develop new AI professionals. The initiative offers both beginner-level training in AI skills and advanced courses led by experts.
"This is a pilot project for developing the AI Talent Factory. It will not only train beginners or intermediates but also produce practitioners guided by experts," Pudjianto explained.
He added that the program aims to generate practical AI-based solutions and strengthen Indonesia's digital workforce, thereby boosting the contribution of the digital economy to the country's GDP.
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Translator: Farhan Arda Nugraha, Martha Herlinawati Simanjunta
Editor: Anton Santoso
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