Skilled workers on mining sector urgently needed in RI

By Bambang Atmaja

Chairman of Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Chatib Basri said that the government needed to prepare more skilled-workers on mining sector to meet with expected rising demand and to lure more investment on the mining sector.

He said that demand on skilled workers would continue to increase as the country's mining industry is moving to promote added value on the products.

"The skilled workers are rather in shortage now including on the mining sectors. We still have a problem. Take for example how difficult it is just to find someone who can operate an excavator now," he said at the Indonesia Investment Summit at Ritz Carlton hotel.

He said that investors had often questioned the capability of Indonesia to provide skilled workers as a pre-condition of their investment.

To comply with the demand, Chatib said that the private sector should be involved in it. "One of the solution is to have cooperation with private sectors. Because we cannot entirely rely on the government training center for this since the equipments at the training center are not updated enough with the current situation," said Chatib.

Editing by Adianto P. Simamora