Speaking during a limited Cabinet meeting, Jokowi said the program was designed to prepare new members of the workforce with skills that matched with industry demands as well as upgrade the skills of existing workers, so they can be more productive and competitive.

He went on to express his desire to see the program implemented in January next year, adding that people who were eligible would be free to choose from skills training prepared by the government.

“They could choose the training that they are interested in. For example, [to be a] barista, in animation, graphic design, the English language […] programming and coding,” he said at the Presidential Office on Tuesday.

Private companies as well as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are encouraged to participate in the program by providing the training facilities, he added.

Human resources development is at the core of Jokowi’s second-term administration and its 2020 state budget, as the fast-growing digital economy and risks of automation require upskilling and reskilling for the country’s workforce.

A 2018 study by the McKinsey Global Institute and the World Bank projected that there will be a shortage of 9 million skilled and semiskilled workers for the digital sector in Indonesia between 2015 and 2030.

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