Questioning The Effectiveness Of The Pre-Employment Card Training Certification

Illustration. (Photo: Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs)

JAKARTA - Public interest in participating in various trainings in the Pre-employment Card is quite large, amidst heavy criticism of the program. Later, these participants will get certification after completing the training.

However, the question is whether this certification is effective in helping those who have lost their jobs due to the corona virus or COVID-19 outbreak? Then, when it comes to employment, is the industry willing to accept it?

Executive Director of the Institute for Economic Studies, Institute for Development of Economic and Finance (Indef) Tauhid Ahmad admitted that he doubts that the certification from the Pre-Work Card training can be accepted by the industry.

"Who wants to admit a certification like this? Will the industry want to receive certification from the Pre-Employment Card training?" said Tauhid, in a virtual discussion with the theme 'Pre-Employment Cards: You Ask, We Explain', Wednesday, April 29.

According to Tauhid, the training concept provided in the Pre-Work Card program is more similar to a seminar. This is because there is no two-way communication between the provider of the material and the training participants.

"If the target is only knowledge, why not just make a live video like the Ministry of Manpower (Kemenaker) provides free training modules. Communication Pre-Work Cards are like seminars, there is no concept of incoming training. There is no communication about the provision of material, especially via video," he said.

In addition, Tauhid admitted that he was not sure that the Pre-employment Card participants could remember the training materials after the pandemic ended. Moreover, until now no one has been able to confirm when this plague pandemic will end.

On the other hand, Tauhid also criticized the assumptions made by the management of the Pre-Work Card program where they considered consumers to be kings. So, participants only need to choose the training. He considered, this assumption was wrong.

"The government has the direction of the RPJMN, the direction of the priority industry. There are five priority sectors, industry 4.0, and where the future workforce needs are going. Well, this does not mean that these consumers know the future direction. If you know for sure, they are not in such a condition. difficult like now, "he explained.

Workers in Jakarta. (Angga Nugraha / VOI)

Not only that, Tauhid also criticized the credibility of each training and pre-employment card training material providers. Then, standardize what kind of training module and who makes it.

"Who are the assessors in this training module? How do they carry out the assessment? Does the module already have a standard? If so, who did the standard testing. I'm not sure the Project Management Office (PMO) or whoever verified 1,900 types of training. eliminating stress as training material, "he explained.

Tauhid then questioned the function of the National Agency for Professional Certification which was formed based on Law Number 13 of 2003 concerning Manpower so far. This is because this agency works to ensure the quality of competence and recognition of workers in all professional sectors in Indonesia through a certification process.

"If everything is left to the market mechanism. Why should the government create a certification body? There are centers and so on," he said.

Not Guaranteed to Get a Job

Denni Puspa Purbasari, Executive Director of Implementing Management for the Pre-Employment Card Program, said that the government has coordinated with employers to ensure that Pre-Employment Card participants can be absorbed in the industrial sector.

Denni admitted that in the initial process of designing this program, the government had invited representatives of entrepreneurs to discuss. Among these are the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi), the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo), and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

"So if they need labor, no need to spend money. Just contact the training institute and state the labor needed," he said.

Even so, the government emphasized that it does not guarantee that people will immediately get a job when they are finished in the pre-employment card program training. The reason is that work is very complex because you have to attend vocational training.

"Those who can guarantee include themselves, showing themselves to be considered by the company's HRD. So the expectations must be right, don't over promise," he said.

Industrial Revolution 4.0 is a threat

The Ministry of Manpower (Kemenaker) said that Indonesia is predicted to lose 23 million jobs by 2030. The jobs that will be lost will occur in various sectors. This is based on the results of research by McKinsey & Company regarding the condition of Indonesia in the next 10 years.

The research stated that job losses occurred due to the 4.0 industrial revolution. It is believed that this revolution will result in a speedy shift in job positions, thus eliminating these occupations in the future.

However, the positive side of the industrial revolution is that it creates 27 to 46 million new jobs in the future. So that the number of new jobs that appear will be more than the jobs that are lost.

Because of this condition, the Director General of Development, Training and Productivity of the Ministry of Manpower Bambang Satrio Lelono hopes that the Pre-Employment Card program participants choose the type of training carefully and carefully, so that the training obtained can be used in finding work.

"After they practice, the skills they have through online training and incentives can be used as new opportunities to work," he said.

Given the challenges ahead, Bambang said, it is necessary to develop the skills and abilities of the community so that they can adapt to technological advances. One of them is the Pre-Employment Card program.

"The Pre-Employment Card Program through skilling training programs is to provide provision for workers who will enter the world of work," he explained.