The involvement of social partners, including trade unions, in the governance and coordination of skills system, has taken on a greater importance during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Workers’ organizations could contribute to education and training systems for the benefit or workers, enterprises and the community more broadly.

Understanding the important role of trade unions as one of the key labour actors in the reform process of technical and vocational education and training and in shaping national skills development strategy, the ILO through its skills development projects had engaged and supported six national trade union confederations to develop their position paper on skills development.

The six union confederations were the following: The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Union (KSPI), the Indonesian Labour Union Confederation (KSBSI), the Confederation of All Indonesia Workers Union (KSPSI), the Confederation of All Indonesia Workers Union– CAITU (KSPSI-CAITU), the Confederation of National Workers Union (KSPN) and the Confederation of Indonesian Moslem Trade Union (K-SABURMUSI).

This paper captures main concerns and recommendations of trade unions on skills development, contributing to reduce youth unemployment and skills mismatch in Indonesia. The paper covers a range of skills related issues that need to be addressed, from vocational training and certification to school-to-work transition programme and public employment services.

“It is our contribution to the realization of job protection and security in the country, while at the same time ensuring the quality of our labour force to be more competitive and productive,” stated Rita Shalya, Deputy Secretary General of KSPI.

The trade unions presented their position paper in the tripartite meeting on skills development early this year. During the meeting, representatives of the government and employers welcomed this initiative. The paper would be taken into consideration in the formulation of policies on skills development.

“We value contributions given by our social partners. The perspectives of trade unions conveyed through this position paper are in line with the government’s focus on human resources development and are useful inputs for the development of competency standards and the improvement of productivity in Indonesia,” stated Surya Lukita Warman, Secretary General for Productivity and Training of the Ministry of Manpower.

A similar appreciation was also given by the employers’ organization. “This is a very constructive contribution from our partner, trade unions. This should be followed with further social dialogues and technical discussions to identify skills needed as well as to address skills gap and mismatch,” said Danang Girindrawardana, Executive Director of the Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo).

The ILO’s support was provided by its two skills projects: the Industry Skills for Inclusive Growth (In-Sight) Second Phase Project and the Unemployment Protection in Indonesia: Quality Assistance for Workers Affected by Labour Adjustments (UNIQLO) Project.

Funded by the Government of Japan, the second phase of In-Sight Project aims to promote mechanisms and practical approaches that enable industries and workplaces to become drivers of sustainable and inclusive growth in the Asian region.

Funded by the parent company of UNIQLO, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd, the ILO-UNIQLO Project facilitates tripartite dialogues and provides technical assistance to formulate an effective and comprehensive unemployment benefit scheme as a part of social protection system. The Project will run for two years until 2021.