TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (KP2MI) is exploring European countries as potential destinations for Indonesian migrant workers (PMI).
“Many explorations are underway in Turkey, Italy, Germany, Slovakia, and several other Eastern European countries,” said Minister of P2MI Mukhtarudin on Thursday in Denpasar, cited Antara.
Following the departure of Indonesian migrant workers from Bali to Bulgaria, Mukhtarudin stated that there are more opportunities in European countries, particularly those with aging populations.
"They need nurses and caregivers to care for the elderly, including in the hospitality sector. Hospitality workers in Bali, for example, work not only in hotels, but also on cruise ships," he said.
Currently, most migrant workers are placed in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan. In Europe, where the number of migrant workers is high, there are not many. Bulgaria is one such country.
Meanwhile, there is a great potential demand for migrant workers, so the government is trying to make Indonesian workers more competitive with those from other countries who also want to work in Europe.
The Minister of P2MI stated that the government is currently preparing the capabilities of prospective PMI because it wants to focus on formal and professional sector workers. For example, KP2MI recently sent 300 skilled manufacturing workers to South Korea. Some were also sent to Japan to work in its manufacturing industry.
"Now, we are focusing our preparations on professional sectors. We already have significant opportunities in Asian countries and Europe, including Eastern Europe. We have also mapped out Turkey and Malaysia, where there will be a need for 15,000 nurses within the next three years," said Mukhtarudin.
Because of the intense competition with other countries, KP2MI encourages prospective PMIs to continue improving their skills.
"While we are experiencing a demographic bonus, other countries are experiencing population aging. This is one of our efforts to eradicate poverty, reduce unemployment, and improve welfare," he continued.
The government is preparing prospective migrant workers to be more competent because the current output of higher education and vocational schools does not fully meet the host country's needs. Not to mention, language skills are often the most challenging, so assistance from job training institutions (LPK) is still needed.
"Not all vocational school graduates can immediately demonstrate global competencies, including those in nursing. Host countries cannot absorb all Poltekkes graduates, so additional vocational training is needed," said the Minister of P2MI.
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