Not On Target, It Is Only Natural That The Pre-employment Card Program Reaps Criticism

CORE Indonesia economist Piter Abdullah. (Mery Handayani / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Pre-Employment Card Program has been under the spotlight, especially during the corona virus pandemic or COVID-19. In an emergency situation like now, people only need policies that are rational and right on target.

This was stated by CORE Indonesia economist Piter Abdullah. He considered that if government assistance was right on target in the midst of this pandemic, the public would not focus on the program.

"But like this, if government assistance had gone so smoothly, carried out so quickly and hit the mark, I think there would be no problem with the Pre-Employment Card. Because the designation was actually not for social assistance," he said, in a video conference on the theme 'Pre-Employment Cards: You Ask, We Explain ', Wednesday, April 29.

According to Piter, the Pre-Work Card program, which is currently being used by the government as a social safety net, for people affected by layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic is deemed inadequate.

Supposedly, he said, the government should prepare special assistance for the community in the form of direct assistance rather than online job training.

"People will not sue if their needs have been met. There are so many of our people who need assistance and have not received assistance. The pre-employment cards do not fit the current conditions," he explained.

In conditions that are not pandemic or normal conditions, Piter said, the concept of the Pre-Employment Card is already very good. Because, in the compilation process it has been adjusted according to the conditions.

However, in this pandemic condition, according to Piter, the training in the Pre-Employment Card program is not a solution to the problems faced by the community today. He considered, it would be better if the money used for the training was given directly to the people affected by the layoffs.

"I myself witnessed it because there were people in my family who experienced layoffs, then lost their income and were unable to fulfill their obligation to pay debt installments, and simply paid for the house rent. What happened? They could not continue living like that. They had to leave the rent and boarding house, "he said.

For your information, the Pre-Work Card is a program of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in his second term of leadership. This program was also discussed during the campaign. The goal is to improve the skills and abilities of job seekers to suit industry needs.

President Joko Widodo and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin. (Photo by: Setkab)

However, over time, Indonesia was faced with the problem of the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred globally. Because of that, this program has also shifted from its original purpose, which is also intended for those who have experienced layoffs (PHK).

Participants in the Pre-Work Card program will receive an incentive of IDR 3,550,000 per person. The details are IDR 1 million for training assistance, IDR 600 thousand for four months for training incentives and IDR 150 thousand for job survey incentives which were conducted three times.