One form of progress in a region can be assessed by how strong the economy of the people in that region is. Talking about finance certainly cannot be separated from the cooperative sector, where cooperatives have played a big role in strengthening society economically.
In general, cooperatives can be defined as business entities owned and managed by their members. However, Mohammad Hatta, who said that several experts. According to Hatta, cooperatives are a joint effort to improve or improve life and economic standards based on the principle of mutual assistance.
In order to advance and improve the competency of Human Resources (HR) in Papua, the Department of Cooperatives for Small and Medium Enterprises, Industry and Trade (Dikoperindag) of Central Papua Province is holding education and training to increase understanding and knowledge of cooperatives as well as HR capacity and competency. The training involved cooperative actors in 8 districts of Central Papua Province.
On this occasion, the Governor of Central Papua Province, Dr. Ribka Haluk, S.Sos, MM hopes that this training can improve the competence and skills of cooperative members in running business and providing services to the community. He also said that human resources are the most valuable asset in every organization, including cooperatives.
He also said, through effective training, he hopes to increase the competence of cooperative members, administrators and staff, so that they can carry out their duties better, as well as to achieve sustainability and success of organizations, especially cooperatives, in the long term.
Rebekah explained that cooperatives are organizations that are driven by the cooperation of their members, in this arena cooperative members are their biggest asset. So skilled and knowledgeable human resources are needed to increase the competitiveness of cooperatives, meet members’ needs and encourage economic growth.
In efforts to improve cooperative human resources, of course there are several key things, such as education and training which are strong foundations. Because after all, developing the knowledge and skills of members, administrators and cooperative staff is needed so that all cooperative administrators can carry out their duties well.
On the other hand, Haluk asked cooperatives to always adapt quickly. Human resources are creative and open-minded and can help cooperatives remain relevant and competitive in an ever-changing market. By carrying out this training, it is hoped that the participants will be able to master various aspects related to cooperatives, such as financial management, good governance, marketing, leadership and cooperative development. Of course, this training must be a forum for various knowledge and experiences, as well as providing the tools and resources needed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of cooperatives.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Central Papua Province Cooperative and Trade Service, Nobertus Mote, SE., M.Si, explained that the involvement of cooperative actors throughout the Central Papua province is expected to be able to take part in good training with the aim of enabling cooperative administrators to manage cooperatives to improve the economy of their members.
Nobertus also said that through the training which was held for 3 days by presenting competent resource persons, cooperative actors would be able to return to their areas and operate the cooperative well. Because so far many cooperatives have not been built with poor management, where such neglect certainly has the potential to be detrimental.
On different occasions, the Ministry of BUMN together with the Regional Government (Pemda) also encouraged BUMN and BUMD to prioritize the use of production results from cooperatives. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the Job Creation Law would make it easier for people to establish cooperatives.
Airlangga said that apart from making cooperatives work easier, the use of technology can also guide cooperatives to become familiar with digital developments. In fact, cooperatives must be ready to face the digitalization that will occur in Indonesia.
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of cooperatives in Indonesia has indeed increased. However, this increase is not yet significant. In 2021 alone, the number of cooperatives in Indonesia will reach 127,846 units throughout Indonesia. This number increased by around hundreds of thousands from the previous year which was only 127,124 units.
On different occasions, the West Papua Provincial Government (Pemprov) has committed to improving the quality of cooperative management in order to encourage the community’s economy. In order to realize this commitment, the West Papua provincial government is holding management training for cooperative managers, which is the government’s effort to create cooperatives that are competitive, independent and accountable.
He explained that cooperatives as legal entities driving the economy of course need to apply professional governance principles. Of course, the progress of the cooperative will have a positive impact on the welfare of all members of the cooperative. Cooperatives are one way to improve people’s quality of life, cooperatives must also play a role in efforts to manage natural resource wealth, so that it is hoped that cooperatives can grow sustainably and reach many regions in Indonesia.
