Although the Jakarta administration and businesspeople are optimistic about the readiness of Jakarta to face the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) slated to begin at the end of 2015, the administration is preparing to help local workers compete with their counterparts in other countries
lthough the Jakarta administration and businesspeople are optimistic about the readiness of Jakarta to face the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) slated to begin at the end of 2015, the administration is preparing to help local workers compete with their counterparts in other countries.
Chief of the administration's economic bureau, Adi Ariantara, said recently that the AEC would not harm big cities in Indonesia, including Jakarta.
'Jakarta is a service city. AEC makes it easier for people to open businesses. We just have to make sure that the infrastructure for distribution is good,' he said.
Adi said some sectors, such as trade, could take advantage of the AEC.
'Vendors at Tanah Abang textile market, for example, will be able to get cheaper products from other countries such as China,' he said, adding that cheaper products were easier to sell than expensive ones.
The AEC, popularly known as the ASEAN single market, was created to integrate the economies of the region. For the 2015 summit, the AEC has prepared a blueprint that focuses on the establishment of a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region with equitable development and a region that is fully integrated with the global economy.
Adi said the administration should now focus on local workers who might be severely affected by the AEC.
'Our workers have adequate skills and are competitive, but lack work ethics,' he said, adding that Indonesian workers were generally less productive than workers from other countries.
Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Priyono said that the agency was intensifying the training of job seekers to improve their skills in specific fields.
'We have seven training centers that can train around 5,000 to 6,000 job seekers,' he said.
Priyono said the agency expected to see an increase of entrepreneurs thanks to the training.
'If they become entrepreneurs, they will also open up more job opportunities,' he said.
Priyono said that after completing training, his agency also help job seekers find jobs. 'In the last two years, we have cooperated with many companies that have been willing to hire job seekers that we train,' he said.
The agency head said his agency would also restrict the influx of foreign workers to Jakarta. 'We need to issue a regulation that stipulates some positions cannot be filled by foreign workers,' he said.
The deputy chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Sarman Simanjorang, said there would be no problems in the sectors of investment, trade, tourism and industry with the opening of the AEC.
'Our tourism sector is good, we just need to improve transportation infrastructure, for example,' he said.
The deputy chairman said the most worrying thing was that workers from other countries were preparing to enter the Indonesia market.
'Skilled workers like nurses in the Philippines are now learning the Indonesian language,' he said.
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