REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUTA -- The National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) will expand the placement of skilled workers in the formal sector to various destination countries in 2017.

The move is carried out in order to reduce the number of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) working in an informal sector.

"One of the attempts to strengthen the scope of the overseas labor market is through the cooperation of various placement schemes of TKI," Deputy of Foreign Cooperation and Promotion of BNP2TKI Elia Rosalina Sunityo said after the opening of Employment Business Meeting in Kuta, Badung district, on Thursday.

Elia stated that improving the function of Labor Market Intelligence as TKI monitoring system in representative offices of Indonesian government has became one of the agency's performance priorities in 2017.

However, Elia figured out that an obstacle in the demand of companies and workers, especially in terms of competence and language, has become a problem to increase the number of skilled formal TKI. 

Therefore, BNP2TKI is undertaking a capacity building program for prospective TKI in order to improve the workers' competences in various leading positions in line with the requirement of foreign labor market.

The program serves as a solution for the government's decree on the discontinuation and prohibition of sending Indonesian labor migrants to individual users in Middle East countries.

"The capability improvement is important to be conducted continuously as part of the government's efforts to promote skillful TKI so that potential workers can be absorbed in the labor market in destination countries. It also needs to continue to get the support of all parties," Elia emphasized.

Working abroad not only serves as a source of income for TKI and the country's foreign exchange but also provides added value by improving the workers' skills which can contribute to the Indonesia's development in the future.

The meeting was also attended by 11 employment agencies, 70 private recruitment agencies, and nine Indonesian representatives from the Indonesian embassies in countries including Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Muscat in Oman, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Singapore, Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei Darussalam, the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei (IETO) in Taiwan, Indonesian Consulates in Istanbul and Penang in Malaysia.

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