Indonesia calls on HR to lead nationwide skills development

Indonesia’s Minister for Manpower Hanif Dhakiri (pictured) has called on the nation’s Chief HR Officers to lead the way forward on skills development.

Speaking to HRM Asia’s inaugural CHRO Series conference in Jakarta on November 5, Dhakiri warned that Indonesia’s young workforce was at risk of being left behind amid the disruption and volatility within the regional business environment.

Workers need to develop future skills, alongside the learning needed for their current jobs, he said.

Today, 43 million Indonesian workers are trapped in low-wage work for low-level industries. HR leaders across the economy should be working to ensure they are able to lift themselves out of that working poor environment.

“We don’t want blue collar parents to have blue collar workers,” he said. Instead, work should be an opportunity for upskilling and lifelong reskilling.

Pambudi Sunarsihanto, Chairman of the Indonesian Society of HR Professionals (PMSM), also addressed the 80 Chief HR Officers assembled at the conference. He agreed with the Minister that there was more that HR professionals could do to drive skills development across Indonesia.

“HR is no longer an easy job since we are in a VUCA world,” he said. But all too often, HR professionals have wanted to be “in the drivers’ seat” for their organisations, but would rather not take responsibility for human development across the country.

Sunarsihanto pledged to widen the scope of HR and encouraged PMSM members to do the same.