RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indoneisa's Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, affirmed that the manufacturing sector remains the backbone of Indonesia’s national economy and one of the country’s largest employment generators. Therefore, the need for competent and certified industrial human resources has become increasingly important.

“National industrial development requires support from investment, technology, and competent human resources. For this reason, the Ministry of Industry consistently prepares competency infrastructure development programs to meet the demand for professional and globally competitive industrial workers,” Agus said in a written statement in Jakarta on Monday, May 25, 2026.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry, the food industry became the manufacturing subsector with the highest labor absorption in 2025, contributing approximately 13.86 percent of total manufacturing employment. This reflects the strategic role of manufacturing in creating inclusive and sustainable jobs.

As part of improving the industrial competency ecosystem, the Industrial Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMI) organized the 2026 First Batch Competency Assessor Training from May 4–8, 2026, in Jakarta. The program used a curriculum based on guidelines from the National Professional Certification Agency (BNSP) and aimed to produce professional competency assessors capable of conducting industrial competency tests.

Head of BPSDMI, Doddy Rahadi, stated that providing competent industrial human resources must be supported by strong competency infrastructure, ranging from Indonesian National Work Competency Standards (SKKNI), Professional Certification Institutions (LSP), competency assessors, to Competency Test Centers (TUK).

“This training is a concrete example of government facilitation as well as a form of synergy between the government, industry, certification institutions, and academics in strengthening the competency of Indonesia’s industrial workforce,” Doddy said.

The five-day training program consisted of four days of coursework and one day of competency testing. It was attended by 20 participants from professional practitioners and academics representing industrial-sector certification institutions. The instructors and examiners involved were master assessors directly appointed by BNSP. Participants who passed the assessment will receive competency assessor certificates issued by BNSP.

Meanwhile, Head of the Industrial Human Resources Education and Training Center, Ronggolawe Sahuri, expressed hope that Professional Certification Institutions can optimize the role of competency assessors in carrying out certification processes according to their respective certification schemes.

“Certification institutions also need to strengthen cooperation with companies, industrial associations, and professional organizations, while expanding certification schemes according to industry needs,” he stated.

Through strengthening the capacity of competency assessors, the Ministry of Industry remains optimistic that the quality of Indonesia’s industrial workforce will continue to improve, supporting the transformation of the country’s manufacturing industry into one that is more productive, competitive, and adaptive to global technological developments.