Farida Susanty, Jakarta – Only 10 percent of construction experts in the country are certified, raising concerns over the capacity of domestic human resources to compete with workers from other Southeast Asian countries amid the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
Among skilled laborers, certification levels reach around 30-40 percent of the total number, according to data from the National Construction Service and Development Board (LPJKN).
"More than Rp 100 trillion was allocated to the sector this year, and Rp 5.5 quadrillion over the next five years. We're ready for the AEC, but we have to increase the proportion of certified workers," said Insannul Kamil, a top official with the West Sumatra Construction Service and Development Board, on Tuesday.
He was referring to the budget of the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, one of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's strategic bodies, which was recorded at Rp 104 trillion (US$7.88 billion) this year. The ministry is expected to receive Rp 5.5 quadrillion over the next five years.
Insannul said the board aimed to increase certified skilled construction labor to 60 percent in order to compete with the country's ASEAN neighbors.
The move chimes with the ministry's directorate general of construction's target to add 750,000 new certified laborers by 2019. The ministry also launched a mobile training unit (MTU) to be deployed in South Sumatra on Tuesday, in order to boost training and certification for construction laborers.
Insannul meanwhile criticized the plan to revise the 1999 law on construction and overhaul the process of certification of construction workers. The bill, which is slated for deliberation in May, will give construction associations the authority to issue certification for members through a new agency – the Construction Service Registration and Certification Body (BRSJK) – to be set up later.
"The government will decide who certifies the workers, whether to set up a new body or to maximize the role of the current construction association," he said. The bill will also address other issues such as the organization of the construction industry, payment of workers and the criminalization of failing construction.
Previously, legislator Muhidin Mohamad Said said that once the bill was passed into law, it would also empower construction associations to certify their members, with accreditation given by the certification body.
Muhidin said there would be requirements for an association before it was authorized to certify, including having a certain number of branches across the country.
Meanwhile, LPJKN official Darma Tyanto Saptodewo said several issues in the bill should be harmonized with existing laws on certification, such as the Standardization and Appropriateness Evaluation Law. The bill, Darma added, needed to create a system that removed any chance for associations to sell certification to certain groups.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/03/10/few-workers-ready-competition.html