EMPOWERING HUMAN RESOURCES IN COASTAL REGIONS CRUCIAL FOR FISHERY DEVELOPMENT by Fardah

Jakarta, June 26, 2016 (Antara) - Possessing the world's second longest coastal line, Indonesia should invest heavily on empowering human resources in coastal regions for fishery development.  
     Since some 70 percent of its territory constitutes water, Indonesia is believed to have maritime potential worth US$1.2 trillion and is able to absorb 40 million workers.

          The contribution of the maritime sector to the country's GDP, so far, however, has only reached 30 percent. Indonesia's GDP was some $862 billion last year.

           Lawmaker Mahfudz Sidik drew comparisons between Indonesia and Japan, stating that the latter's maritime sector contributed 48.5 percent to its GDP, which is $17,500 billion. He further pointed out that Thailand's maritime sector contributed $212 billion to its GDP. 
     To boost fishery development, Sidik has called on the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry to focus on empowering the human resources in coastal regions.

         The ministry has, in fact, made significant efforts to eradicate illegal fishing and to guard the nation's maritime territory, which was not even its domain, the member of Commission IV stated recently.

         Securing the country's waters and natural resources was crucial, but it must not become the ministry's primary task as it also needed to improve the skills and knowledge of human resources to improve maritime and fishery management in order to boost the nation's fishery production, the politician of the Justice and Prosperous Party said in agreement.

        The lawmaker hoped that the human resources program will be prioritized in the ministry's working program and budget allocation.

         The Indonesian government does pay serious attention to fishery education as the country has shown the ambition to become a world maritime axis.     
   President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has tasked state-run Indonesian Maritime Polytechnic (Polimarin) with guarding "Nawa Cita," or the nine-priority agenda, particularly the first agenda to make Indonesia a maritime axis, and the fifth being to improve the quality of maritime education and to boost the productivity of maritime human resources.

         "We are ready to support the maritime axis vision and Nawa Cita as echoed by President Jokowi," Semarang-based Polimarin Director Sri Tutie Rahayu stated after being called by the head of state in Jakarta, recently.

         Jokowi called on Rahayu to assign her the task of strengthening the country's maritime human resources.

        "We are authorized to issue 11 certificates on maritime education of international standards and are recognized as a world-class maritime institute," she noted.

   
Since its initiation four years ago, Polimarin has established cooperation with a German university to start a double degree program.

         The polytechnic is also assigned to set up a D4 (non-degree) program on Nautical education.

         Moreover, Polimarin has forged cooperation with partners in Sweden, South Korea, New Zealand, and the Indonesian Navy in character building, and with the customs and excise directorate in basic safety training, as well as with private maritime companies.

          It plans to build a campus on a 100-hectare plot located in a coastal area, so its students could practice by using the latest version of sophisticated simulator from Germany, she noted.

         The government had planned to establish 10 vocational education institutes or polytechnics in the maritime, electronic material, ship building, food, and manufacturing fields, among other things, Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister M. Nasir remarked.

         The 10 polytechnics will become pilot projects so that they can churn out certified graduates that could be absorbed by the markets, according to Nasir.

        "The quality of our manpower must be improved," he added.

         Indeed, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) is currently developing 10 marine and fishery polytechnics across Indonesia.

          "In accordance with the minister's order, we must set up 10 polytechnics, including one in Kupang, by 2019," Head of the KKP Education Center, Mochamad Nurhudah, said in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, recently.

          The new academic year will start this year and the registration process is now underway, according to him.

          The central government is paying serious attention to education in the fields of fishery and maritime, he affirmed.

           This year, the government has set a priority that 40 percent of the students will be recruited from among the children of traditional fishermen, and 16 percent from partners and general public who are interested in mastering knowledge about maritime and fishery, he explained.

    
 Education is very important to help them become knowledgeable and skillful so that they can improve their lives, he added.

         Benediktus Polo Maing, the third assistant to the East Nusa Tenggara governor, lauded the move to set up new polytechnic in Kupang.

          Due to a shortage of human resources, East Nusa Tenggara has so far managed to explore less than 25 percent of its maritime and fishery potential, he stated.

          He hoped the new polytechnic in Kupang would produce experts capable of giving a boost to maritime and fishery products in the province. ***4***
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 25-06-2016 16:42:59