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Schools, training centers urged to boost Industry 4.0 skills
The government has urged vocational schools and training centers (BLK) to improve the skills and creativity of human resources in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4
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span>The government has urged vocational schools and training centers (BLK) to improve the skills and creativity of human resources in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, as people remain key to the development of Indonesia’s economy.
National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) head Bambang Brodjonegoro said in a recent seminar in Jakarta that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.17 percent in the third quarter of this year was largely contributed by the manufacturing sector.
The sector could increase its contribution if it had human resources who could create competitive products, he said.
“Because technical ability is crucial, we need human resources with high-level skills and creativity who can improve [our] competitiveness against other countries,” he said in the forum.
Bambang urged vocational schools and training centers to equip industrial students with more practical skills aside from theories as they were expected to play an important role in encouraging research and development in the manufacturing sector.
“To develop industry, we need both research and development,” he said. “Research alone cannot create a product and industrial students, therefore, should be involved in industrial development.”
At the same event, chairman of the Association of Industrial Engineering and Management Graduates Faizal Safa said many vocational schools and training centers had failed to update their programs because of limited budgets.
“Many vocational schools and training centers, for example, still use the infrastructure of Industry 1.0 [the most basic industrial technology],” he said. “Furthermore, the authorities do not monitor their operations regularly.”
Faizal suggested that universities provide up-to-date training for teachers in vocational schools and training centers, particularly those related to integrated work and learning programs (PBBT) and soft skill development in both face-to-face and virtual classes.
“What we need to achieve in one or two years is making sure that the industrial workforce in remote areas can adapt themselves to the digitalization of manufacturing,” he added.
Bambang cited Germany as an ideal example of a country with an efficient system of vocational schools where the students not only learn in classrooms but also in factories, which prepared them to become skilled professionals.
Developing countries in Asia, including Indonesia, are trying to catch up with the new wave, and the government has released a roadmap titled “Making Indonesia 4.0”, which stipulates automation and data exchange in manufacturing technology.
Bambang also stressed the need for five strategic plans in increasing industrial competitiveness.
He said the first step was link-and-match, in which vocational schools and training centers collaborate with industrial companies that need workers. The second is teacher training and the third is the availability of teaching factories where students can practice their skills. The fourth is providing work placements, while the fifth is the implementation of the National Working Competency Standards (SKKNI).
According to data released by the Industry Ministry, five sectors in the manufacturing industry have contributed the most to the growth in Indonesia’s GDP, namely food and beverages, textiles and clothing, automotive, electronics and chemistry.
Bambang underlined the importance of maintaining the good record of those five sectors. (aak)
