M'sia-Bound Indon Workers To Receive Better Training
JAKARTA, July 28 (Bernama) -- Thousands of Indonesian workers heading for Malaysia in search of a better fortune will receive in-depth and broader skills training that will lead to a higher pay.This is made possible following the joint effort of the Association of Indonesian Manpower Service Agencies (APJATI) and a Malaysian-based educational and training firm, the Infomaya Group of companies (IGC).
Workers from all sectors supplied by agencies under APJATI will be given training by qualified instructors not only in relevant skills but also in other areas like Bahasa Malaysia or English language, Malaysian basic law and culture.
They will be issued with certificates at the end of their training programme in a move that will give them due recognition from Malaysian employers.APJATI and IGC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) early this month to provide a technical framework for the undertaking.IGC managing director Dr Mohamed Fauzi Mohamad told Bernama here Wednesday that two of its subsidiaries -- Alliance Legacy Sdn Bhd and Progressive Skill Development Centre Sdn Bhd -- had been assigned to provide the service.
He said Alliance Legacy would be responsible for formulating training programmes for instructors and selected training assessment materials for the workers.Progressive Skill Development Centre would arrange for the accreditation and certification of workers who had completed the courses, he said.
The two subsidiaries had been officially appointed by the National Vocational Training Council of the Human Resources Ministry as the agency that provides training for trainers of foreign workers and as foreign workers technical evaluation agency.Under the arrangement, APJATI, the umbrella body for some 400 Indonesian manpower supply agencies, will provide administrative and training facilities at all its 130 workers training institutes throughout Indonesia, the world's biggest provider of workers to foreign countries.
APJATI deputy head Idris Laena said about 10,000 workers would be trained every month under the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry-approved curriculum and module, for the training programme.
"With the training, workers' skills will be markedly improved and recognised, which will lead to a better pay for them, at par with the locals or workers from other countries," he said.
He said that currently, manpower from Indonesia for the foreign labour market was also given training but it was not accredited and was too basic to produce skilled workers.
For the past few decades, Malaysia has been home to hundreds of thousands of Indonesian workers earning their living mostly in the construction and plantation sectors as well as housemaids and factory workers, following the scarcity of jobs at home.
Many of them also entered the neighbouring country through illegal means, exposing them to manipulations and fraud by their employers and underground employment agencies.