The Government Admits That Online Pre-employment Card Training Does Not Guarantee That Participants Can Get A Job

Illustration. (Angga Nugraha / VOI)

JAKARTA - The government, through the Pre-Work Card program, seeks to facilitate the community to improve their abilities. However, this program in the midst of the corona virus pandemic or COVID-19 was deemed not on target. Moreover, this program is considered not to guarantee that the community as participants can get a job.

As is known, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the national economy has been disrupted, as a result of which there have been mass layoffs (layoffs). So that the government's budget for online pre-employment card training is considered more effective if it is given in cash.

Assistant Deputy for Manpower of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Yulius admitted that the main purpose of the Pre-Employment Card is to increase competence, not as a guarantee of getting a job.

"This Pre-Employment Card is useful for increasing skills. With good skills, the community, if there is a company need, they can fill. Currently, the government is bothered by the need for companies, but our community's skills are not sufficient," he said, in a virtual discussion with the theme 'Cards Prakerja, Improve the Capacity of Superior Human Resources for Advanced Indonesia, Thursday, April 23.

Yulius also said that the absorption of labor is very dependent on investment. So, the higher the investment, the higher the absorption. This means that employment is determined by investment.

"Not from the training from this Pre-Work Card. If investment increases, the need for labor will increase, but the qualifications of the Indonesian people do not meet the needs of the workforce, of course it will be filled by the outside community. Because our qualifications do not exist," he said.

Although the Pre-Work Card program cannot provide certainty for the community to get a job, this does not mean that the government is silent. Yulius said that at least two methods were established regarding this training.

First, said Yulius, for training only, namely trainees and places. Meanwhile, the second is place and trainee.

"So in this second method, when the industry has collaborated with training institutions, and has absorbed the workforce, after that they are given Pre-Employment Card assistance in the hope that they already have a slot in the industry to work," he explained.

But again, Yulius emphasized, there is no guarantee for participants who take part in the training to get a job. Because, if during the training process or afterwards, participants show inappropriate evaluation results, the participants cannot join the company.