Welcoming Indonesia's 2045 Demographic Bonus, West Sumatra Improves The Quality Of Young Generation Human Resources

The Governor of West Sumatra, Mahyeldi, wants the public to be ready to welcome the demographic bonus. . (ANTARA/W Sumatra Apim Documentation)

PADANG - Indonesia will soon enjoy a demographic bonus in the next 15 to 25 years. This makes the productive age group the majority population in Indonesia. Employment fields must also be widely available, so that there is no explosion of unemployment.

In order to prepare the demographic bonus, the West Sumatra Regional Government has prepared a strategy to welcome the "Golden Indonesia" 2045. One of them is by improving the quality of human resources (HR) of the younger generation who utilize local wisdom and are integrated with formal education.

"We continue to encourage the integration between the potential of local wisdom, namely 'surau-lapau' education with formal education in order to produce a young generation who has the competitiveness to welcome the 2045 demographic bonus," said West Sumatra Governor Mahyeldi in the Regional Webinar Welcoming Indonesia Gold 2045 in Padang, Saturday (10/7).

Surau (mosque) education is to build mental and spiritual abilities, while lapau (kedai) education is to build socialization, communication and negotiation needed to complete academic abilities.

The governor acknowledged that surau and lapau education had begun to be eroded by the dynamics of the times as the Nagari government system changed to become a sub-district or village.

However, the post-reform movement back to Nagari resonated in West Sumatra. At the same time, the local wisdom of education in surau and lapau has also been revived.

Although it is not maximized, it is believed that this potential can be one of the solutions in developing the human resources of the young generation of West Sumatra. In addition, discussion forums in universities are also continuously encouraged to train students' abilities in meeting pulpits.

Meanwhile, in formal education, West Sumatra also builds collaboration between provinces and districts/cities from various aspects, both policies and budgets.

West Sumatra continues to encourage SMK to be able to adapt its curriculum to the needs of the world of work. The curriculum in question is not the main curriculum, but a complementary curriculum such as local content that can be adapted to the needs of students.

At the high school level, West Sumatra is also discussing requiring all class XII students to enter dormitories with the aim of strengthening academic abilities so that they can be accepted at well-known universities at home and abroad.

Thus, in the golden era of Indonesia 2045, the young generation of West Sumatra will have the ability and capacity to compete at the national and international levels.

Previously, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy said that Indonesia would enter the peak of the Demographic Bonus (the workforce is more than the elderly) in 2045.

If it can take full advantage of this opportunity, Indonesia will become the four countries with the strongest economy at that time. However, if you fail to manage that potential, what will happen is social disasters such as high unemployment, rising crime rates and juvenile delinquency.

Therefore, it is necessary to take steps to strengthen the human resources of the younger generation from now on by involving all parties from the central to the regional levels.