The Ministry of Industry plays a role in meeting the industry's needs for the availability of competent human resources (HR). This is because skilled human resources are one of the keys to increasing productivity and creating innovation in the industrial sector. “With the support of reliable human resources, of course, our industry will become more globally competitive. In the end, if the performance of the industrial sector gets better, it will encourage national economic growth," said the Head of the Industrial Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMI) of the Ministry of Industry, Arus Gunawan in Jakarta, Tuesday (1/11). The head of BPSDMI emphasized that human resource development is part of the current government's priority program. The strategic steps taken include the implementation of vocational training and education, including establishing cooperation with the industrial sector. “We already have a number of vocational education units which include 11 Polytechnics, 2 Community Academies, and 9 Vocational Schools. In addition, there are 7 Industrial Training Centers (BDI), all of which are under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry's BPSDMI, and are spread across several Indonesian provinces," he said.
Arus said that one of the Ministry of Industry's vocational education units located in industrial areas is the Furniture and Wood Processing Industry Polytechnic (Polifurneka). The campus which stands on an area of 19,000 m2 is located in the Kendal Industrial Estate, Central Java. Moreover, the furniture industry requires an innovative product and attractive design so that it can be competitive in the domestic and export markets,” he explained. The Ministry of Industry noted that the need for labor in the furniture industry sector reached 562 thousand people in 2020, and will increase to 645 thousand people in 2025. "Therefore, we have established cooperation with furniture companies so that the graduates of Polifurneka Kendal can directly work or be absorbed in the industry,” explained Arus. Polifurneka Kendal, which has been operating since 2018, is a pilot of the cooperation between the Indonesian and Singaporean governments. This partnership is part of the effort to develop the Kendal Industrial Estate. In addition, in implementing the education model at Polifurneka Kendal, Indonesia collaborated with SECO Switzerland to implement a competency-based dual system model. Currently, Polifurneka Kendal has three specific and technical Diploma 3 (D3) study programs in the furniture sector, namely Furniture Production Engineering, Furniture Design, and Furniture Industry Business Management. "We are optimistic that with the incoming investment in the furniture industry, we are ready to supply competent and reliable human resources," he added. According to the Indonesian Furniture and Crafts Industry Association (HIMKI), the relocation of the furniture and handicraft industries from China will encourage the absorption of local workers. This is because the furniture and handicraft industry is a labor-intensive sector. HIMKI also assesses that the availability of competent human resources in the furniture industry will boost its export performance. Indonesia targets the export value of furniture and handicraft products to reach USD 5 billion by 2024. Meanwhile, the export value of furniture and handicrafts in the first quarter of 2022 has reached USD 1 billion, an increase of 15.87 percent compared to the export value in the first quarter of 2021. HIMKI targets the export value this year to reach USD3.93 billion, and increase to 4.46 billion the following year.
