Increasing Competence, Menaker Ida Fauziyah Encourages Prospective Migrant Workers To Get Quota For The Pre-Employment Card Program In 2021

The Indonesian Minister of Manpower, Ida Fauziyah. (Photo: Doc. Of the Ministry of Manpower)

JAKARTA - The government continues to strive to improve the competence of Prospective Indonesian Migrant Workers (CPMI). Therefore, through the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) CPMI is encouraged to immediately get the 2021 Pre-Employment Card Program quota.

In fact, in the drafting of the Minister of Economy Regulation Number 11 of 2020 concerning Work Competency Development through the Pre-Work Card Program, it was agreed that there was a special quota to increase the CPMI. However, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Minister of Manpower (Menaker), Ida Fauziyah said that providing a CPMI quota to get training through the Pre-Employment Card is one of the government's efforts to improve CPMI's competence.

Moreover, said Ida, based on Law Number 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, increasing the competence of the CPMI is the responsibility of the central and regional governments.

"So until now, our desire to get an allocation or quota for CPMI has not been fulfilled. We continue to encourage CPMI to get a pre-employment card quota," he said at a Working Meeting with Commission IX of the Indonesian Parliament at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday, March 16.

For your information, there are eight digital platforms that implement the Pre-Work Card Program, which includes Sisnaker, Tokopedia, Skill Academy, What to Learn, Bukalapak, Pintaria, Sekolah.mu, and Pijar Mahir.

"Sisnaker is the only digital platform owned by the government to implement the Pre-Employment Card Program. Here, the Ministry of Manpower is one of the government-owned digital platforms," he said.

Pre-Employment Cards have been opened up to batch 14

The government considers the Pre-Employment Card to be one of the most useful during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because the program system is semi-social assistance. The beneficiaries not only get the opportunity to upgrade their skills, but also the incentives provided can be used to buy basic commodities.

For this reason, the government has decided to continue this program in 2021 until it reaches batch 14.

Based on the National Labor Force Survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in August 2020, it shows that the Pre-Work Card Program has successfully carried out its dual mission as a semi-social assistance program.

In the 2020 Pre-Work Card Program Implementation Management Report explained, as many as 88.9 percent of participants stated that they had experienced an increase in work skills. In addition, 81.2 percent used incentives to buy daily necessities.

The Executive Director of Implementing Management (PMO) for the Pre-Employment Card Program, Denni Puspa Purbasari, said the beneficiaries had already felt the benefits of the Pre-Employment Card. In fact, incentive recipients have reached 5.32 million people in 2020. Meanwhile, in 2021 the beneficiaries have reached 269 thousand people.

"Incentives have been disbursed in 2020 amounting to Rp13.35 trillion and Rp161 billion in 2021. There are 5,509,055 effective recipients out of 5,987,674 determined," he said.

Based on a survey conducted by management, Denni said, the incentives given were used for 74 percent to pay for electricity, 70 percent for business capital, 64 percent to buy gasoline and diesel, and 61 percent to buy internet packages.

The results of the evaluation survey by PMO, which were answered by 4 million participants, were in the form of improving skills and soft skills by 98 percent, increasing productivity by 93 percent, and increasing competitiveness by 89 percent.