Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 07/04/2008 11:08 AM | National
Employers are reluctant to support the profession certification program out of concern over remuneration and skepticism about certified job candidates' competence, the certification agency says.
It will take two or three more years for the government to convince businesses to recognize profession certificates as an employment requirement, deputy chairman of the National Profession Certification Agency (BNSP), Sumarna F. Abdurrahman, said Wednesday.
"Employers have agreed to require profession certificates in theory but not in practice," he said.
The government, through BNSP, has been seeking to boost human resources competitiveness through the official profession certification program since last year.
Under the program, based on Australian certification programs, the BNSP sets standards of excellence in several professions in sectors such as manufacturing, machinery, mining, communications, health and tourism.
A certificate is awarded when an individual demonstrates his or her mastery of required skills and meets the standards of the profession in a practical job setting.
According to Sumarna, profession certification is crucial to boost Indonesian human resources competitiveness in a globalized market.
Indonesia was ranked 54th among 131 countries in the 2008 global competitiveness index, issued by the World Economic Forum, outranked by neighboring countries Singapore (7th), Malaysia (21st) and Thailand (28th). Last year, Indonesia was ranked 51st.
Sumarna said there were fears among industry employers that profession certification would upset companies' remuneration systems as certified job candidates would ask for higher salaries.
"From our talks with employers, we can conclude they are not ready yet for the possible impact," he said.
"They have shown little trust in the competence of certified job applicants. They still question whether a profession certificate can really guarantee the competence of the employee."
But Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman M.S. Hidayat said not all businesses were reluctant to recognize profession certificates as a job requirement.
"In some cases, industry employers worry about how it will affect the remuneration system in their companies, but others are OK with it," he told The Jakarta Post.
According to Hidayat, no single agreement has been reached among Kadin members.
"It's just a matter of time for industries to adjust to the government's efforts and to trust in the competence of certified job candidates."
Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi said employers had their own recruitment standards that might not be covered by the BNSP certification programs.
"Many employers have shown little trust in the national standards because they have no clue how the BNSP conducts its tests and issues its certificates," he said.
Sofjan said most companies were skeptical about whether the BNSP standards could meet their needs for staff competence.
"Companies have questioned why should they pay more for certified job candidates if there's no guarantee they can perform according to the companies' standards."
He suggested the government make employers more familiar with the certification programs in order to gain their trust and support.
Employers are reluctant to support the profession certification program out of concern over remuneration and skepticism about certified job candidates' competence, the certification agency says.
It will take two or three more years for the government to convince businesses to recognize profession certificates as an employment requirement, deputy chairman of the National Profession Certification Agency (BNSP), Sumarna F. Abdurrahman, said Wednesday.
"Employers have agreed to require profession certificates in theory but not in practice," he said.
The government, through BNSP, has been seeking to boost human resources competitiveness through the official profession certification program since last year.
Under the program, based on Australian certification programs, the BNSP sets standards of excellence in several professions in sectors such as manufacturing, machinery, mining, communications, health and tourism.
A certificate is awarded when an individual demonstrates his or her mastery of required skills and meets the standards of the profession in a practical job setting.
According to Sumarna, profession certification is crucial to boost Indonesian human resources competitiveness in a globalized market.
Indonesia was ranked 54th among 131 countries in the 2008 global competitiveness index, issued by the World Economic Forum, outranked by neighboring countries Singapore (7th), Malaysia (21st) and Thailand (28th). Last year, Indonesia was ranked 51st.
Sumarna said there were fears among industry employers that profession certification would upset companies' remuneration systems as certified job candidates would ask for higher salaries.
"From our talks with employers, we can conclude they are not ready yet for the possible impact," he said.
"They have shown little trust in the competence of certified job applicants. They still question whether a profession certificate can really guarantee the competence of the employee."
But Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman M.S. Hidayat said not all businesses were reluctant to recognize profession certificates as a job requirement.
"In some cases, industry employers worry about how it will affect the remuneration system in their companies, but others are OK with it," he told The Jakarta Post.
According to Hidayat, no single agreement has been reached among Kadin members.
"It's just a matter of time for industries to adjust to the government's efforts and to trust in the competence of certified job candidates."
Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi said employers had their own recruitment standards that might not be covered by the BNSP certification programs.
"Many employers have shown little trust in the national standards because they have no clue how the BNSP conducts its tests and issues its certificates," he said.
Sofjan said most companies were skeptical about whether the BNSP standards could meet their needs for staff competence.
"Companies have questioned why should they pay more for certified job candidates if there's no guarantee they can perform according to the companies' standards."
He suggested the government make employers more familiar with the certification programs in order to gain their trust and support.