JAKARTA (Joint Press Release) – The International Labour Organization’s Skills for Prosperity Programme in Indonesia (SfP-Indonesia), funded by the United Kingdom government, and its national and international partners today (23/5) launched new and improved four-year maritime study programmes as well as shared their institutional and professional capacity building milestones, other achievements and knowledge with other stakeholders. The partnership took place since 2021.

The event was officially presided over by Nadiem Makarim, Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology who is represented Beny Bandanadjaja, Academic Director of Vocational Higher Education, Matt Downing, Deputy Head of Mission and Consul-General to Indonesia and Timor-Leste and Michiko Miyamoto, ILO Country Director of Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

The ILO’s SfP-Indonesia supports skills development for an inclusive, sustainable and internationally competitive maritime and coastal economy. The programme has been implemented through four polytechnics in four coastal provinces: Batam State Polytechnic (Polibatam) in Riau Islands, State Maritime Polytechnic Indonesia (Polimarin) in Central Java, Surabaya State Shipbuilding Polytechnic (PPNS) in East Java and Manado State Polytechnic (Polimanado) in North Sulawesi.

In addition, SfP-Indonesia has established capacity-building collaborations with four leading UK higher education partners: Polibatam has been partnered with City of Glasgow College (CoCG), Polimarin with Solent University (SU), PPNS with University of Strathclyde (UoS) and Polimanado with University of Gloucestershire (UoG).

The partnership with national and international partners has brought about enhanced Diploma 4 curriculums which are well aligned with industry trends and international standards in the maritime sector. This is a shift from the three-year Diploma 3 programmes. The four-year D4 programmes are designed for different subsectors of the maritime industry in each of the ILO’s polytechnic partners: Polibatam on Logistics and International Trade, Polimarin on Seafaring Engineering, PPNS on Shipbuilding Engineering and Polimanado on Global Tourism Management.

The partnership also helped strengthen the polytechnics’ engagement with industry through the development of local Industry Advisory Boards. In addition, SfP-Indonesia has provided technical support for curriculum development and improvement, capacity-building for teachers and academic staff and enrichment of the student learning experience. Students can benefit from interactive skills development through work-based learning and consultation with experts, and stronger institutional links between their polytechnic and relevant industry partners will further support their progression to decent work.

Beny Bandanadjaja, Academic Director of Vocational Higher Education, greatly appreciated the joint partnership built by the ILO’s SfP-Indonesia with the four polytechnics. “This joint programme and partnership is a strategic move to build competent, productive and competitive Indonesian workforce in the maritime sector. This is also in line with the priority of the Indonesian government through its Presidential Regulation No. 68/2022 on Revitalization of Vocational Education and Training. By sustaining the results of this joint partnership, we can reach the prosperous Indonesia,” he said.

Michiko Miyamoto, ILO Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, emphasized the importance of high-quality education and skills development in Indonesia, particularly in maritime sector. “The ILO is pleased to see that the partnership built with our higher education partners will be sustained and will continue leading to the enhancement of Indonesian maritime workforce to have knowledge and skills relevant to industry needs and global trends,” Michiko said.

Matt Downing, Deputy Head of Mission and Consul-General to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, said: “The UK and Indonesia are both proud maritime nations and I am very pleased that we are able to support the priority that President Joko Widodo gives to the maritime sector, not only to better connect the islands but also to increase efficiency and effectiveness of trading goods across the archipelago.

He added that this programme has shown that the partnership between these two countries have helped ensure education of Indonesian students and workforce to be relevant with high international standards, using the very best skills training and technical expertise the UK maritime sector has to offer,”

Indonesia has set its ambitions to become a high-income country by its centenary in 2045 and has initiated human resources development through a demand-oriented revitalization of the national technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system to build competent, productive and competitive human resources.

As the largest archipelagic country, the maritime sector has a critical bearing on the country’s economic performance and has been identified as a priority sector by government in the 2014 Global Maritime Fulcrum master plan, with national commitment renewed and refocused through the Blue Economy Agenda launched at the G20 during 2022.

The live streaming of the event can be viewed on ILO TV Indonesia.

For further information, contact:

Muce Mochtar
Project Officer of ILO’s Skills for Prosperity Programme
Email: muce@ilo.org

Dede Sudono
Project Officer of ILO’s Skills for Prosperity Programme
Email: sudono@ilo.org

Gita Lingga
ILO’s Communication Officer
Email: gita@ilo.org