Job-seekers willing but unqualified

May 29, 2011

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN INDONESIA

Growing pool of young people lacking in skills and education

By Zubaidah Nazeer, Indonesia Correspondent

An ILO report said job openings for the young had not improved since the 1990s. They are typically low-paying or may be temporary. -- PHOTO: AFP

Jakarta: Diploma holder Yuni Sugrondo has jumped from one contract job to another in the last three years.

Her stints as administrative assistant paid up to 1.5 million rupiah (S$220) a month, just enough to buy food and contribute to her family's expenses for their house.

The 24-year-old, who studied management at a private institute in Jakarta, has not been able to find a permanent job. Employers tell her she lacks specific skills for the jobs in human resources that she really wants.

'That is why I want to take a course in human resources so I can get into that industry. But first I need to earn enough to save money,' she said.

Ms Yuni is among a growing number of Indonesians aged between 15 and 24 who have yet to benefit from Indonesia's economic boom, analysts say. The problem is that many of these young people lack the education and skills to land well-paying jobs.

According to the World Bank, the Indonesian workforce lags far behind regional ones in education - only 27.1 per cent have secondary education and above, compared with higher levels in other countries in the region. The figures are from 2007.

And even those with degrees may not have the skills employers are looking for, recruiters say.

Last year, Indonesia's economy grew by 6.2 per cent, creating 3.9 million jobs. The National Statistics Agency said unemployment shrank to 6.8 per cent of the labour force, from 7.4 per cent a year earlier.

But in a sobering report last month, the International Labour Organisation pointed out that the youth unemployment rate in Indonesia was 22.9 per cent in 2009.

'This was significantly higher than the regional 13.9 per cent for South-east Asia and the Pacific, and the world average of 12.8 per cent,' said economist Kazutoshi Chatani, who prepared the report.

The report also noted that job openings for young people had not improved since the 1990s. They are typically low-paying and sometimes temporary, such as drivers and office assistants.

As a result, real wage growth has 'stagnated or even decreased in some sectors', it said.

Already, university graduates face keen competition for decent work. The situation is even bleaker for the less skilled.

This is because Indonesia's service sector - which includes trade, communications, transport and construction and requires better-skilled workers - has expanded while the labour-intensive manufacturing sector has slowed down.

The income gap between graduates and non-graduates continues to widen, analysts said.

The general manager of online recruitment firm JobsDB in Indonesia, Mr Chandra Ming, cited the information technology (IT) industry as an example. Of the 200,000 vacant positions, only about 40 per cent are filled, because workers lack the qualifications.

'For every IT job advertised, we get around 80 to 120 CVs monthly,' he said.

Often, the hiring firm is looking for degree or diploma holders, but many candidates are high-school graduates, he added.

The World Bank warned in March that Indonesia needed to invest in education if it was to move into higher-value industries.

Mr Ming called for a revamp of the education system.

'Maybe the government can renew the existing curriculum, to further specify and offer specialised subjects so as not to be too general,' he said. 'Also, private parties can provide other relevant training.'

Meanwhile, opposition politician Sadar Subagyo told the Kompas newspaper that spending on education needed to increase from about 4 per cent of government spending to 20 per cent.

For now, job-seekers like Ms Yuni have no choice but to take whatever jobs come their way.

She said: 'I cannot afford to remain unemployed as I've to help support my four siblings. I am thinking of doing part-time sales work while looking for a better job.'

zubaidah@sph.com.sg