REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SERANG -- The elected president of Indonesia on July 9, 2014, presidential election should be ready to face the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC 2015), stated economic observer Dahnil Anzar of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Untiratra).

"Whoever is elected as the president in the upcoming election must be ready to face AEC 2015 in terms of local industries and manpower," Dahnil emphasized here on Sunday.

He remarked that in addition to under-skilled manpower, local industries were believed to be less competitive because of high economic cost.

He further added that more than 50 percent of the local human resources graduated from elementary schools, and therefore, will be unable to compete in the AEC.

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu noted that good human resources were the key to achieving success in AEC 2015.

"The question is how we prepare ourselves for the AEC in 2015. The key to success lies in the quality of human resources," she earlier remarked.

She claimed that the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry has long been preparing a wide range of programs to face AEC.

Citing an example, she noted that the ministry certified a total of 58,627 tourism workers employed in hotels, restaurants, spas, travel bureaus, among others, between 2007 and 2013.

"This refers to the implementation of the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on Tourism Professionals, which has agreed to 32 standard professions in the tourism sector," she added.

In addition, she pointed out that the ministry had also implemented several capacity building programs for those employed in the creative industry and facilitated a business incubator program to churn out creative entrepreneurs, who are better prepared to face the global market.

Several young creative entrepreneurs were able to compete with foreign rivals in the global market, including the ASEAN market after taking part in the business incubator program, she affirmed.

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