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Indonesia needs more skilled expatriates to help create jobs, Kadin says
According to Kadin department head of monetary policy and financial services Tigor M. Siahaan, one expatriate could create at least 20 jobs for local people.
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Two foreigners cross the Thamrin road on July 6, 2009, in front of the Bank Indonesia building in Jakarta. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
T
he Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has encouraged the government to attract more skilled expatriates to work in the country, hoping this can spur advanced and high-tech jobs that could end up boosting the economy. However, some experts pointed out that an increment in foreign workers should not neglect local workforce absorption.
Tigor M. Siahaan, Kadin's department head of monetary policy and financial services, suggested that the government should put more effort into attracting expatriates, claiming that the number of foreigners working in Indonesia should be between one and two million, and that more needs to be done to reach foreign direct investment (FDI) targets.
"I think in the era of advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence [AI], we need those global talents to come here and teach us," he said during the Economic Outlook 2024 event organized by the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) on Tuesday.
Some foreign business associations have raised concerns related to the complexity of the work permit process as well as a lack of clarity and transparency in the government's regulations on foreign workers.
The European Business Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (EuroCham) wrote in its position statement in July 2023 that the government should simplify the requirements for work permit applications for foreigners, as this would increase foreign investment and attract more foreign workers who can transfer knowledge and skills to Indonesian workers.
Indonesia had over 138,000 foreign workers in the first ten months of this year, according to Manpower Ministry data. The figure was up from more than the 111,000 people recorded at the end of last year.
Around 48 percent of this year’s expatriates came from China, followed by Japan and South Korea, with both contributing around 9 percent.
