Toll-road operator empowers local builders with free training

Toll-road operator PT Jasa Marga has concluded a free three-week training program for 50 construction workers from Cikampek, West Java, a village that has seen much of its workforce turn to freelance building amid a turndown in local farming.

Agus Setiawan, 42, who attended the training said he had begun to doubt whether he could continue to support his family as a freelance construction worker.

The father of four who has worked as a builder for 20 years said increased competition in his field was making it difficult to bring home a steady paycheck.

"These days, working two weeks in a month is very good for me," Agus told The Jakarta Post.

Concerned he may lose out on work to younger builders, Agus, who learned his trade on the job, says he wishes to master advanced construction skills to become more appealing to hirers.

Another worker, Endang Suryana, 27, shared Agus' concern. Endang, father of one and a resident of Dawuan Timur subdistrict, said he often accepted jobs on construction sites in Jakarta and could spend weeks at a time away from his family.

"I prefer to work here rather than in Jakarta," he said, "The salary in Jakarta is better, but workers coming from out of town don't learn anything because we are only tasked with moving construction materials or mixing cement."

According to Agus and Endang, a construction worker in Cikampek is paid at most Rp 60,000 (US$6.50) for eight hours of work, compared to Rp 80,000 in Jakarta.

With total farm area down to just 10 percent of the region's 4,000 hectares, Cikampek, which lies 80 kilometers west of Jakarta, has seen many of its workers switch to the informal sector, including freelance construction labor.

Head of the Cikampek Kota subdistrict, Indra Kusuma, said one in five of the 1,800 families in the village had at least one male working as a construction worker.

Indra said most construction workers had mastered basic skills, including bricklaying, cementing and painting. However, specialty work, such as door making and roof installation, was typically entrusted to workers from outside of the village, she said.

Held in conjunction with the company's 32nd anniversary, Jasa Marga's training program taught advanced construction techniques to the 50 builders.

Jasa Marga commissioner Sumaryanto Widayatin said workers with knowledge of advanced construction techniques improved productivity.

"A worker who understands a certain technique can install an 8-square-meter ceramic floor in a day," he said.