INDONESIA AIMS TO PRODUCE COMPETENT HUMAN RESOURCES IN MARITIME FIELD by Fardah

 Jakarta, March 7, 2015 (Antara) - It is the ambition of the Joko Widodo administration to develop the nation into a maritime axis and revive the country's past maritime glory.

        One of the keys to realize this ambition is by building competent and professional human resources in the maritime field.    
  Education and Culture Minister Anies Baswedan and Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Indroyono Susilo have agreed to improve some 900 maritime and fisheries vocational schools to prepare Indonesia's human resources for maritime development.

        The quality of vocational schools will be improved to meet the standard of certification set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Chief Minister noted in a statement recently.

        The two ministers have also agreed to name 10 to 20 maritime vocational schools in regions including West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara, East Kalimantan, Maluku, Tual, and North Sulawesi as role models.

        The ministers will also recruit experienced instructors from, among others institutions, the Indonesian Navy to teach diving, basic safety training, and training on the use of bridge simulators in the schools.

        Minister Susilo noted that for imparting education in fisheries and seaweed agribusiness, the schools' curriculums will comprise 70 percent practical lessons and 30 percent theory.

        For sailing practical, students will be involved in the Nusantara Jaya (Great Archipelago) Expedition 2015, which will deploy 88 boats to sail in eastern Indonesian waters.

        Furthermore, 20 students will be selected for a goodwill sail to Milan, Italy, in May-June 2015 onboard a warship, KRI Banjarmasin-592.

        The maritime vocational schools' study programs include fishing boat nautical, fishing boat techniques, merchant boat nautical, merchant boat techniques, fisheries agribusiness, and seaweed agribusiness.

        Indonesia also plans to have 10 more fisheries polytechnics, including one in Banyuwangi, by 2020.

        "If we get a 10-hectare plot, we will build one in Banyuwangi," Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Dwisuryo Indroyono Soesilo said in Banyuwangi on March 6, 2015.

        The Minister stated his office has been building capable and competent human resources of international quality for developing the maritime and fisheries fields.

        "Human resources are the most important component," the Minister stressed.

        He added that the government will cooperate with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) so that diplomas from maritime vocational schools can be used as collateral for bank loans. That way, he said, the schools' graduates can get the capital to start business.

        As an example, the Chief Minister cited that graduates from Fisheries Institute School (STP) in Jakarta display international competency because it has established cooperation with four universities in the United States, one in Germany, one in South Korea, and one in Australia.

        The world-class school often has teleconferences with lecturers overseas, the Minister added.

        At the high-school level, ten fisheries vocational schools have been established. Among other subjects, they offer majors in fisheries techniques, fisheries nautical science, fisheries agribusiness, and seaweed agribusiness.

        "Every major island should have at least one model fisheries vocational school. We should also produce world-class graduates in fisheries vocational schools. Agribusiness majors can also be employed in the banking sector or can emerge as entrepreneurs," he noted.

        District Head of Banyuwangi Abdullah Azwar Anas hailed the offer to build a fisheries polytechnic in his region.

        "We are ready to build a maritime polytechnic in Banyuwangi," he stated.

        Meanwhile, the head of the human resource development agency of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Suseno Sukoyono, remarked the government was ready to disburse Rp 1.5 trillion for the 10 maritime polytechnics.

        This year, three polytechnics will be established in Bone, South Sulawesi; Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara; and Karawang, West Java. Banyuwangi will have a polytechnic by 2016, the Jakarta Post reported on March 6, 2015.

        Earlier, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry's Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMKP) and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) agreed to jointly develop human resources in the marine and fisheries fields.

       "Developing human resources in the marine and fisheries sector should be prioritized, considering their inadequate competent human resources," Kadin's deputy chairman for maritime affairs and fisheries Yugi Prayanto said in early March.

        He noted that any program to develop human resources in the marine and fisheries sector should cover all aspects from upstream to downstream.

        Some two years ago, with an investment of Rp7 billion, Kadin established a fishing industry training center in Seram Island, Maluku Province, and initiated training programs.

        Similar training centers are under development in Central Kalimantan and North Sumatra at a cost of Rp5 billion each, and are expected to be completed this year.

        "It is our endeavor to improve the competitiveness of human resources in the marine and fisheries sector," he added.

        According to Sukoyono, thousands of Indonesian sailors working abroad have indicated there has been an increasing demand for sailors from the country.

        According to him, many Indonesian sailors are working in countries such as South Korea and Hong Kong for the better pay they offer. ***1***
(f001/INE/B003)