President Jokowi: Vocational Education Plays Important Role in Human Capital Development Strategy

President Jokowi attends the Inauguration of Diponegoro University Vocational School Building through video conference, at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province, Wednesday (26/8). (Photo by: Public Relations / Oji)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has highlighted that human capital development is a top priority program for the Indonesia Onward Cabinet in the next 5 years and vocational education plays an important role in the strategy.

“Both infrastructure and human resources should be great with efficient institutional management, it is our key to escaping the middle-income trap and it will also lead us to become a developed country,” the President said at the Inauguration of Diponegoro University Vocational School Building through video conference, at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province, Wednesday (26/8).

The President went on to say that the current health and economic crisis that has hit the world and Indonesia should be used to catch up, to resolve fundamental issues, and to prepare and implement strategies, particularly strategies in human capital development.

“At the peak of demographic bonus, working-age population has dominated the proportion of Indonesia’s total population. This means that we must provide as many job opportunities as possible, we must also improve the capacity of our human resources to be more productive and more competitive. Therefore, vocational education plays an important position in our human resources development strategy,” the President said.

According to him, higher education institutions have a central role since universities have a good learning ecosystem, followed by mastery of science and technology, and the potential to develop innovation.

“We also have to realize that besides higher education, there is an industry that provides ready-to-work individuals, skills training on the ground, an entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as research and development. This is a good source of learning for our young generation, especially in vocational education,” the President added.

Also accompanying the President during the event were, among others, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung and Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim. (TGH / EN)

Translated by: Syarifah Aisyah
Reviewed by: Yuyu Mulyani