For Indonesia, the challenge is no longer simply finding overseas markets, but turning labor demand into suitable jobs that offer greater value to workers and the economy.
Data from the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Information System (SIP2MI) showed 292,471 active overseas job openings as of September 20, 2026.
Of these, 216,236, or 73.93 percent, remained unfilled. The gap highlights a disconnect between identified labor demand and the capacity of the placement system to turn that demand into actual jobs.
That gap cannot be attributed to a single problem. Some vacancies may remain open because of recruitment processes, documentation, destination-country requirements, or administrative capacity.
In Turkiye, for example, around 30,000 verified job orders could potentially be filled by Indonesian workers, but visa-processing capacity is limited to about 12,000 to 15,000 applications a year.
The number of unfilled vacancies remains important because it shows where the placement process needs closer examination. Deputy Minister for Migrant Worker Protection Christina Aryani stressed that preparing workers cannot stop at training. Skills must be linked to industry needs and ultimately lead to placement.
The key question, therefore, is not simply how many prospective workers are trained, but how many training outcomes translate into placements for jobs that actually require those skills.
This shifts the focus toward what happens at each stage of the process, rather than how many programs are conducted.
That approach could also prevent policy from becoming overly reliant on two easily measured indicators: the number of people trained and the number placed overseas.
Both remain important, but neither is enough to show whether market demand is being met by workers with the right skills.
Tracking outcomes at each stage would make it easier for the government and placement partners to identify where the process is breaking down and respond accordingly.
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Linking supply to demand
The shift is already visible in the government’s “SMK Go Global” program, which prepares prospective migrant workers for overseas jobs through skills training, certification, and language training.
As of September 17, 2026, at least 18,110 participants had registered and 4,601 had entered training, against a target of 40,000 participants in 2026. Training covers language skills, technical competencies, and certification tailored to the requirements of destination countries.
Minister for Migrant Worker Protection Mukhtarudin said curricula and training should be based on labor market demand rather than estimates. The mapping covers sectors, positions, destination countries, qualifications, and required skills.
That policy premise has a clear implication. If labor demand is used to determine the skills workers need, the results should also be traceable to that demand.
For each labor request, policymakers should be able to see how many candidates are being prepared, how many meet the qualifications, and how many are ultimately placed.
Such a data chain would show where the process stops. If workers have acquired the required skills but have not departed, the bottleneck may lie beyond training.
If vacancies exist but candidates do not meet the requirements, the problem lies in workforce readiness. If both sides are ready but placement is delayed, administrative procedures or destination-country requirements may be the more decisive factors.
Under this approach, the 216,236 unfilled vacancies are not merely missed opportunities. They become a way to identify which parts of the process from labor demand to placement require improvement.
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Capturing more value
Placement numbers alone also do not fully capture the economic value generated by migrant workers. Bank Indonesia recorded migrant worker remittances of Rp288.1 trillion in 2025, up 14 percent from Rp253.3 trillion in 2024. In the first half of 2026, remittances reached US$9.1 billion.
Remittances demonstrate the scale of migrant workers’ contribution, but they do not show the value generated by individual jobs. Two workers may both secure overseas employment while having very different levels of skills, income, protection, and career prospects.
A shift toward more skilled employment therefore needs to be assessed through the economic outcomes associated with each placement.
Andrea Azzqy, a lecturer in international relations at Budi Luhur University, said higher-paying jobs with stronger protection could increase the economic impact of Indonesian migrant workers. He identified health care, manufacturing, and construction as sectors with high economic value.
From this perspective, improving the quality of migrant employment is not simply about changing job categories. It is about how much value workers can derive from their skills and how much of that value returns to Indonesia through income, experience, and improved capabilities.
Kuwait offers an example of how such demand can develop. The Indonesian government is seeking to expand the placement of skilled migrant workers there, while the Kuwaiti government has requested additional Indonesian workers.
Indonesian workers already have experience in sectors including health care, hospitality, sales, and oil.
The example shows that opening markets and preparing skills do not automatically create value. Value emerges when labor demand becomes placement, placement leads to suitable employment, and that employment generates income and experience that strengthen workers’ position.
Indonesia has begun moving from a model centered on labor availability toward one more closely aligned with market demand.
The next stage is not simply to add more programs, but to ensure that outcomes can be traced from vacancies filled and job matching to income and skills gained.
That would allow Indonesia’s migrant worker placement model to move beyond the movement of labor toward the creation of greater economic value.
Indonesia’s advantage should not be measured only by how many people it can send overseas. It also lies in its ability to supply the skills that international labor markets need and turn those skills into higher incomes and valuable work experience.
*Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak is a journalist at the ANTARA News Agency
(The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the ANTARA News Agency.)
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