By: Rebeca Marian)*
Human Resources (HR) is the key to success in nation building. Therefore, the Government continues to boost the quality of human resources in Papua and West Papua so that the progress of Papua can be realized immediately.
Papuans are Indonesian citizens, therefore they are also entitled to facilities and equal distribution of government programs, including equal distribution of education. Education is very important because it is closely related to human resources (HR). When the human resources are good, an area can progress, because their lives are above standard.
The government will improve the quality of human resources in Papua through vocational education. Without underestimating formal education, vocational education is indeed more needed for the people there. The reason is because this type of education focuses on practice so that it is not just learning theory, and people who learn will understand it faster.
Another advantage of vocational education is that it is faster to get a job, because nowadays many companies do not only require a diploma but also skills. With the various skills learned in vocational education institutions, the Papuan people will confidently achieve their dream jobs.
The Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah stated that the Ministry of Manpower supports HR competencies in Papua and West Papua. This is in accordance with Presidential Instruction number 9 of 2020 concerning the Acceleration of Community Welfare Development in Papua and West Papua.
Ida Fauziyah continued, her party has prepared a program to implement the Presidential Instruction on the development of community welfare in Papua. A new BLK (Job Employment Center) will be built to reach more people on Earth of Cendrawasih. This BLK will complement the BLK owned by the local government and the Ministry of Manpower (Kemenaker).
The BLK that will be built is a community BLK and every year 25 new buildings will be built. It is hoped that with the number of BLKs, many Papuans will also be able to study there and gain new skills. For example sewing, cooking, baking, dismantling machines and other skills in the workshop, etc.
The number of BLKs can boost human resources in Papua and West Papua because first, the community can choose what skills they learn. So that later knowledge will be useful as capital to open a business. By registering themselves, they will know where their passion is and will not ‘get lost’, in the sense of being forced to learn knowledge they don’t like.
Second, in BLK, knowledge is taught with many practices, for example for sewing classes you will be able to directly hold the fabric and sewing machine, not just dwelling on drawing clothes designs and making patterns. With this practice, the Papuan people will be more skilled, because they have had a lot of training before working.
Third, the skills learned at the BLK are also useful if residents want to apply for work, for example, after taking sewing classes, they can apply for work in a convection factory. With skill capital, they can earn a living and get a decent standard of living.
Human resources that are boosted through vocational education show the government’s attention. The reason is because if formal education is prioritized then there are limitations, for example in terms of age. Meanwhile, if you go to BLK, you can register for a maximum of 45 years, so that young mothers (as women in Papua are called) can also study at BLK.
The existence of BLK is very important, especially in Papua and West Papua, because these centers will improve skills and boost human resources. The community will have more qualified skills and can be used, both for entrepreneurship capital and for applying for work.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Jakarta