The Batang Integrated Industrial Estate (KITB) in Central Java province will require at least 28 thousand skilled workers in the next few years, deputy II at the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Abetnego Tarigan, has said.
The government will prepare the local workforce with the required skills and working endurance so that they can be absorbed by corporations operating in the industrial estate, he informed at a focus group discussion (FGD) regarding the development of KITB, here on Friday.
The FGD was held to determine the needs of the industrial players in terms of human resources, he added. This is so that business actors do not bring in workers from another region.
“Later, they (the human resources) will be trained at the BLK (vocational training center), SMK (Vocational High School), or other trainings (centers),” he said.
The FGD involved representatives from the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry, Manpower Ministry, Industry Ministry, National Development Planning Ministry, as well as the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry.
It was also attended by several representatives from the Central Java provincial government, including the regional secretary, head of the education and culture office, as well as head of the manpower and transmigration office.
Officials from the Batang and Cilacap district governments also took part in the discussion.
Meanwhile, director of operations and engineering at KITB, Adler Manarissan Siahaan, informed that with a total area of 4,300 hectares, the KITB has been divided into 3 clusters—creation, innovation, and leisure.
“Currently, in Phase 1 (of KITB’s development), 450 hectares of Cluster 1 (creation) has been successfully sold in less than two years. There have been 12 committed investors,” he said.
The FGD was a follow-up to directives issued by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) during his visit to the KITB on April 21, 2021, as well as the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), he added.
One of the main targets for the establishment of the KITB is to increase the number of skilled human resources in Indonesia who can master science and technology.
“The FGD and coordination meeting is a catalyst for driving the economy in the future,” general manager for human capital management at KITB, Budi Reing Wirawan, remarked.
Source: Antara News