TEMPO.CO, Jakarta- "Indonesia lacks experienced human resources," said Rene Soehardono Canoneo, a career consultant, two weeks ago. His statement was shocking because based on data from the Cetntral Statistics Board (BPS) there were 7.39 million unemployed people in Indonesia in 2013. That means, around 6.25 percent out of 118 million people of productive age have no work.
"There is a 20 percent gap between the demand and the availability of middle level [manager and a few levels above] labor force," he said.
Rene's statement was based on the research done by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Growing Pains, Lasting Advantage, Tackling Indonesia’s Talent Challenges. By 2020, the lack of skilled workers will occur in all levels of the workforce. The worst will be at the middle level, with an estimated 56 percent gap.
According to BPS, there were 360,000 unemployed graduates last year, but at the same time, BCG reported that there were 400,000 middle level job vacancies. "This is because our educational institutions are not capable of producing highly qualified people needed by companies," Rene said.
Rene said the gap is significant given that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will be officially launched next year. With the AEC in place, it will be much easier for ASEAN countries to hire workers from the other member states. A number of mid-level jobs could be filled by people from neighboring countries who are better educated.
QARIS TAJUDIN