"I have instructed the Head of the Education Office to add language subjects to vocational high schools, vocational nursing schools, and vocational medical schools to prepare the students to work abroad," he said in Jakarta on Thursday.
This instruction was given because foreign languages such as Japanese, Mandarin, English, and others often become a barrier for the Indonesian workforce to work abroad. Meanwhile, job opportunities abroad are quite large.
"Actually, our people are ready to work, but the primary problem is foreign languages. Frankly, our education office has not prepared the language skills from the beginning," Karno said.
To this end, starting next year, the Jakarta Education Office will add foreign language subjects to the school curriculum.
Director General of Placement at the Ministry of Indonesian Migrant Workers' Protection, Ahnas, noted that there is a high demand for the Indonesian workforce from abroad. However, meeting this demand is hindered by the lack of technical and language skills readiness among prospective workers.
For this reason, the Ministry of Indonesian Migrant Workers' Protection encouraged the Jakarta Provincial Government to prepare the workforce as early as possible, starting with foreign language learning at the senior high school level.
According to the ministry's data, as of November 2025, there are approximately 359,000 job vacancies that Indonesians can fill overseas. Of that number, nearly 70,000 have been filled.
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Translator: Lia Wanadriani, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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