T

he government plans to establish a professional certification body to oversee every vocational school (SMK) tourism course across the archipelago in an effort to improve the qualifications of Indonesian tourism workers.

The deputy for institutions development at the Tourism Ministry, Ahman Sya, said that the new professional certification institution (LSP) would not only certify current and future students prior to their graduations, but also those already working in the industry.

“With the establishment of the LSP, every tourism SMK will be able to ensure that their students meet qualifications in line with ASEAN standards and are ready to compete with workers from the rest of the region,” Ahman said on Wednesday.

A poor grasp of foreign languages and a lack of IT and managerial skills are considered the main reasons why Indonesia’s human resources in the tourism sector still lag behind its neighbors.

Ahman noted that the quality of Indonesian human resources in tourism ranked only fifth in the region, behind Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, and that the three main problems faced by Indonesian tourism workers, mentioned above, had been the same for a long time.

“Quantity wise, we have no issue, but it has always been those three limitations that have been the bane of our tourism development,” he said. “That’s why I want to see these factors improve through new SMK graduates, so that we can improve our human resources in tourism and be more competitive.”

Data from the Education and Culture Ministry shows that Indonesia currently has more than 13,000 vocational schools, which each specialize in one of several fields, including tourism, business, maritime industries and machinery.

By involving vocational schools in its certification program, Ahman said the ministry was aiming to certify 35,000 tourism workers by the end of 2016, double the number certified last year. The effort will also pave the way for Indonesia to lure 12 million international visitors this year, a step closer to the target set by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of attracting 20 million international visitors per year by 2019, Ahman said.

In order to discuss the role of vocational schools in improving the country’s tourist industry, the ministry gathered representatives from tourism SMKs nationwide on Thursday in Batam, Riau Islands, to try to create an integrated solution for developing Indonesia’s tourist industry and related infrastructure in the wake of the implementation of the ASEAN single market.

Separately, Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) chairman Didin Djunaedi said business players were aware of the relative shortage of quality human resources the sector.

“What’s clear is that the Tourism Ministry’s hardest task is to guide and develop its sectoral human resources. With this nationwide meeting of tourism SMKs, there is the opportunity for them to interact directly with the institutions to drive the change needed,” he said.