Minister: Many Unemployed Graduates from Maritime Academies

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that many graduates of the Maritime Academies are unemployed. The amount estimated is more than the pilots, who have been unemployed.

In early September 2017, Budi claimed there were 1,200 unemployed pilots. "For the sailing, there are probably more numbers, we are definitely identifying the exact numbers," he said at Marunda High School of Sailing (STIP), Jakarta, on January 7, 2018.

Budi claimed he just knew that there are many unemployed graduates of the sailing academy. Precisely, the information which has been up to him is that the graduates get the adequate job.

According to him, the sluggishness of the shipping industry in the world has the potential to become one of the reasons. Domestically, the absorption of shipping labor is low. Budi said that he had the plan to make cooperation with other countries that require the labor.

He will also appoint consultants to market Indonesian labor to the international markets. The reason, Indonesian sailing graduates are competitive with other countries. "Our skills are even higher than the Philippines," he said. The Philippines is the largest supplier of shipping power.

Currently, there are about four million seafarers from the Philippines, while from Indonesia only 400,000.

Although the ability is not less, Indonesian human resources are considered still lost because of the language skills. "I have asked that two or three lessons at maritime academies should be delivered in English starting immediately," he said.

VINDRY FLORENTIN