Swiss German University Forum Touches On Workforce Challenges
Jakarta. Swiss German University last week hosted a higher education forum focusing on developing the skills of Indonesia's workforce.
The "Internationalization & Industry Oriented Higher Education System" forum was held Thursday (16/06) in Jakarta and invited various representatives from the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, tech firm Siemens Indonesia, education counselling platform Jurusanku.com and SGU.
The forum discussed issues based on the research by Economist Intelligence Unit and Society for Human Resource Management Foundation in 2013, which indicated the biggest challenge for the development of skilled workforce in the era of globalization is the misalignment between the skills sought by traditional educational institutions and what is actually needed by the industry.
The research showed that 52 percent of Asia Pacific’s industry players have a workforce that are lacking creative soft skills, including adaptation and interpersonal communication.
“There is a standardization in the hiring process of qualified workers, which is a driving factor for a company’s future growth,” Josef Winter, Siemens Indonesia president director and chief operating officer, said.
According to him, the type of workers needed for international companies such as Siemens are those who are skilled with practical knowledge, adopt a good work ethic and internationally-oriented, with a vast knowledge of the local industry.
Sustrina Wibawa, secretary of the directorate general for education and student affairs at the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, added the government will continue to strive high quality university graduates by elevating the national standards of higher education.
“We will continue to strive for qualified, and innovative graduates, with high competitiveness in a national and international scale,” he said.
During the forum, Ina Liem, chief executive of Jurusanku.com, stressed the importance of soft skill development for university graduates, especially in daily teachings.
“Knowledge and practical skills are indeed an asset for university graduates, but in the era where knowledge is easily accessible for everyone, soft skills are key to determining the success of a graduate,” Ina said.
As the first international university in Indonesia, SGU adopts a teaching philosophy centred on the development of soft skills for all graduate that put them ahead of other graduates.
“Since SGU’s inception in 2000, we aim to develop our students according to the expectations of the industry and instil the principle of good work ethics from the student’s experience of being exposed in a global and local professional environments,” said Filiana Santoso, SGU rector.
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