Apindo: Internship Program Needs More Than Just Jobs to Combat Unemployment

Jakarta – The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has asserted that the National Internship Program, while valuable, is insufficient on its own to tackle the nation's unemployment challenges. Apindo Chairman Shinta Kamdani emphasized that the program's success must be coupled with robust job creation initiatives.

Kamdani explained that effective job creation hinges on boosting investment, expanding industries, and ensuring regulatory stability that encourages businesses to hire new employees. She noted that while internships are crucial for enhancing workforce readiness, they do not address the fundamental issue of limited job availability. Indonesia faces a dual challenge: improving the quality of its workforce and increasing the number of available jobs.

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The internship program is a very important instrument for improving workforce readiness, but it cannot be the sole solution in addressing unemployment.

Citing data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Apindo highlighted a significant gap between the annual demand for jobs, estimated between 9.5 million and 12 million, and the number of jobs actually created, which range from 2.4 million to 4.8 million. Furthermore, the ability of investments to generate employment has declined; in 2013, Rp 1 trillion in investment could create over 4,500 jobs, whereas now it only creates around 1,400.

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If in 2013, every Rp 1 trillion investment was able to absorb more than 4,500 workers, now the number is only around 1,400 workers.

To address this, Apindo urges the government to foster a business climate conducive to investment and new job opportunities, advocating for productive and labor-intensive investments. While appreciating the government's target of involving 150,000 participants in the second phase of the National Internship Program, Apindo proposed three key improvements: more precise mapping of labor needs to align skills with industry demands, enhanced participant selection and assessment for better company fit, and standardized quality of mentoring and learning processes within companies for measurable skill development.

Kamdani added that internships can serve as an effective recruitment channel, but the likelihood of interns being hired permanently depends on company needs, economic conditions, and their performance during the internship.

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However, the opportunity for participants to be recruited as permanent employees depends on company needs, economic conditions, and evaluation results during the internship period.