REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian construction engineers should be certified by the ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer (ACPE for consultants) and the ASEAN Architect (AA for architects) to strengthen their competitiveness to face the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
"Both certificates are entrance tickets for construction workers to work in all the ASEAN countries," head of the construction skills improvement office of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing Doedoeng Zenal Arifin said here Wednesday (11/3).
The main requirement to earn the certificates is at least seven years of experience in the construction field, with two years of technical experience as a planner, executor, and supervisor.
A construction expert should have a national certificate (SKA) to apply for the ACPE or AA certificates.
The ACPE and AA certificates are issued by the Coordinating Committee of Services that consists of construction experts from ten ASEAN member countries.
"So far, only some 300 Indonesian construction experts of the 237 million population have the certificates," Doedoeng remarked.
The number is relatively small compared to that of other ASEAN member countries such as Singapore that has 218 certified construction experts of a population of five million and Malaysia that has 208 certified construction experts of a population of 28 million.
The government aims to have 10 thousand certified construction experts within the coming five years.
Meanwhile, the Deputy of Facilities and Infrastructure, the Ministry of National Planning and Development, Dedy S. Priatna, said Indonesia is a promising market for investors in the construction field.
"This is because Indonesia's gross domestic product has reached US$876.72 billion and dominates some 38 percent of ASEAN's economy activities," he added.
The AEC, which will be implemented by December 2015, will facilitate a free flow of investment and a free flow of goods and services.
"Eight service sectors have been agreed within the framework of Mutual Recognition Arrangement. Two of them are related to construction works, namely architecture and engineering," Dedy pointed out.
In the field of engineering, the ACPE and AA certificates will be awarded to engineers and architects working in ASEAN member countries.
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