Minister: Pre-Employment Card Addresses Need for Lifelong Learning to Anticipate Changes in Times

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto gives a press statement after the Pre-Employment Card Alumni Meeting entitled Celebrating Pre-Employment, Celebrating #JadiBisa, at Graha Sawala Hall of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Thursday (10/3). (Photo by: Bureau of Communication, Information Services, and Meeting Management at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs)

Over the past five years, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and the technical management of the Pre-Employment Card program have succeeded in promoting the Pre-Employment Card as a breakthrough government-to-people program with 18.9 million people receiving the benefit throughout Indonesia.

The Pre-Employment Card program has garnered many awards and has even been eyed by other countries to be replicated in their countries. The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Pre-Employment Card Program Management Office (PMO) also hold a Pre-Employment Card alumni meeting every year so that the program can be made even better from year to year.

“The Pre-Employment Card serves as an initial step to keep learning. Indeed, not many of our people get training at school. As evidenced from the Pre-Employment Card survey, about 90 percent of recipients of the card have never received or participated in any training at school, regardless of their level. So actually the moral of the story is that lifelong learning is always essential to anticipate changes in times and changes in technology, and we are in a period where innovation and disruption occur very rapidly, whatever the sector is,” said Coordinating Minister Airlangga in the Pre-Employment Card Alumni Meeting entitled Celebrating Pre-Employment, Celebrating #JadiBisa (a mass campaign to encourage people to maximize their potential), which was held at the Graha Sawala Hall of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Thursday (10/3).

No less than 150 Pre-Employment Card alumni from 38 provinces attended the meeting. They represented Pre-Employment Card recipients spread across 514 regencies/cities in Indonesia. In addition to covering a wide area, the Pre-Employment Card as one of the flagship programs of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs is also inclusive because it is followed by women, young people, poor families, former Indonesian migrant workers, people with disabilities, and people living in the outermost, the frontline, and the most disadvantaged (3T) regions. Coordinating Minister Airlangga said that no other educational institution could provide training to 18.9 million people in about four years. The Pre-Employment Card program has also proven to help overcome the challenges in the workforce in the country.

“Certainly, one of the challenges ahead is the future of work. The challenges ahead are demand, job markets, and jobs which continuously keep changing. Well, that determines that this young generation needs to have the flexibility to manage new careers, job switching, or new jobs that will come up in the future. So of course, the information provided in the Pre-Employment Card program is really essential, such as information regarding on-demand jobs and on-demand requirements, and the only program that can be tailor-made on demand in accordance with the wishes of all of you is the Pre-Employment Card program,” explained the Coordinating Minister.

The Pre-Employment Card has succeeded in reaching all people, including those living in remote areas of the country, and has garnered appreciation and various awards. Coordinating Minister Airlangga said that the Pre-Employment Card has won appreciation from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), UNDP, the World Bank, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, and American Economist Jeffrey Sachs.

The Pre-Employment Card was also selected as an SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) Action presented at the UN Headquarters in 2023 in the SDG Summit series because according to a study, 8 out of the 17 SDG pillars were accelerated by the Pre-Employment Card. In addition, the Pre-Employment Card also received an award from UNESCO, namely the Wen Hui Award for 2020-2023, which was the first award received by Indonesia after 12 years since the inception of the competition. This award recognized the Pre-Employment Card as a commendable educational innovation in the Asia Pacific. Then, the Pre-Employment Card was also recognized to have achieved the Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE) Level 5, and recently the Pre-Employment Card also won the GovCyber Innovator award for its encouragement to cyber security.

“Towards a Golden Indonesia, we still need training as part of education. Many countries have already established ministries that directly handle training and reskilling and upskilling. This is an infrastructure that is needed to reduce the gap between those who have just graduated from formal education and the demand side of work. Therefore, I hope that this team will always be enthusiastic and God willing, we will continue to strive so that this very beneficial program can continue,” he said.

In the doorstop session, Coordinating Minister Airlangga said that the Government is discussing policies combining training incentives for the recipients of unemployment funds with the Pre-Employment Card. The Pre-Employment Card program itself involves more than 540 training institutions and offers more than 6,000 types of training, both online and offline.

“The training category also covers on-demand training and the training which is in high demand, namely digital skills, green skills, soft skills, hospitality, and this is very relevant to the world of work,” he remarked. (Bureau of Communication, Information Services, and Meeting Management at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs/ABD) (TM/MUR)