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espite the global economic crisis, new industries set up in the Batam, Bintan and Karimun special economic zones in the Riau Islands are in desperate need of more than 100,000 skilled workers, an official said Wednesday.

Riau Islands Manpower Agency head, Azman Taufik, said the industrial sector needed workers who had special expertise in welding, manufacturing and health care.

"It's not easy to source such a large number of skilled employees, especially in the fields of welding and electronics. The companies need skilled workers, but most job seekers in the Riau Islands lack training," Azman told The Jakarta Post.

Four oil and gas supporting companies operating in Batam, Bintan and Karimun islands, he said, required around 50,000 skilled workers.

He said manufacturing companies were also looking for a similar number of skilled workers, meaning around 100,000 employees with special expertise were needed in the special economic zones.

Based on office data, there are nearly 995,000 workers in the province while around 52,500 people are unemployed. This figure, from 2008, is lower than the unemployment figure of 55,375 in 2007.

"The number of people looking for work and the amount of jobs available often do not match. So, we decided to provide training to those prospective workers at our specialist centers. But we found many are not interested in working in those particular fields," said Azman.

To equip job seekers with the skills needed by these companies, his office had broadened the range of training programs, not only in welding and electronics, but through short courses available for those interested in the tourism and hospitality sectors.

"PT Saipem, an Italian company which manufactures offshore oil rigs, still requires 5,000 workers despite the fact that it has been recruiting employees for more than a year. The provincial administration is apparently responsible and making every effort to meet the company's demands," said Azman.

Besides the manufacturing sector, he said a number of first-class hospitals had developed across the three zones and were seeking out skilled workers.

"A doctor needs to be accompanied by at least two nurses. We have also urged the private sector to see this as a business opportunity by opening short courses," said Azman.

As an anticipatory measure, Azman said local recruitment agencies had sourced workers from outside the province, such as from East and Central Java and Sumatra.