TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir has called on the SOEs to pay more attention to the empowerment of students and women, and it can be in line with the government's endeavours to increase economic value and address social impacts in the midst of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am proud of our SOEs that have made efforts to boost the development of human resources to make them qualified and competitive as well as to strengthen the economic security amid the pandemic,” Thohir said in a press statement that ANTARA received on Sunday.

Minister Thohir paid a visit to Tasikmalaya, about two hour-drive from Bandung, the capital of West Java Province, on Saturday during which he observed the works of two SOEs, PT Telkom and PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), in supporting the quality improvement of local students and women.

When visiting Vocational High School (SMK) Terpadu Al Ikhwan in Setianegara, Cibeureum Sub-district, he observed a fiber optic laboratory, assisted by PT Telkom and PT Telkom Akses, as a practical facility for the students.

In Payingkiran neighborhood, he was welcomed by female customers of PNM Mekaar (building prosperous family’s economy), a group-based capital service for underprivileged women.

After being aided by Telkom, SMK Terpadu Al Ikhwan now has a complete fiber optic laboratory. It complies with certified standard of Fiber Optic Installation Technic (TIFO) that is able to go live with telephone network connection.

As of Sunday, some 11,232 students from 156 vocational high schools across Indonesia have taken part in implementing the Telkom’s industrial class program.

“Fiber optic laboratory is very important for us all to prepare future high-skilled human capital to boost the nation's development through the mastery of technology. This is in accordance with the ministry’s program, which is aimed at increasing the industry 4.0 readiness index up to 30 percent,” he said.

Erick Thohir also visited the Bunga Tanjung Embroidery MSMEs assisted by Telkom. The Tasikmalayan embroidery craftswomen were deemed successful in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and were able to go global.

During the trip to Taskimalaya, he also visited a school for the disabled, SLB Aisyiyah Kawalu which has received assistance from Telkom to support its educational programs.

The aids comprise five tablets with I-Chat apps installed for the deaf and speech-impaired students; five laptops with JAWS (Job Access with Speech) apps that functions as screen reader for the blind students; brailler typewriters, a package of props to train fine motor skills consisting of therapy chairs, educative cards, oral stimulation devices, and playmate, which are very useful for mentally-retarded, physically disabled, and autism sufferers.

A large number of students and women in Indonesia do need the SOEs' concrete supports to enable majority of the population are more developed in education and economic sectors. By improving the students' quality and women’s sources of income, SOEs have played an important role in improving the quality of life of many Indonesians, Erick Thohir said.

Read: Erick Thohir: SOEs Net Profit Nosedived amid Pandemic

ANTARA