Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Manpower Ministry is preparing an upskilling, reskilling and cross-skilling strategy to help young workers adapt to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and changing labor market demands.
The strategy, known as triple skilling or 3S, is aimed at strengthening workers’ skills as AI reshapes jobs and creates demand for new competencies, Deputy Minister of Manpower Afriansyah Noor said.
“The Ministry of Manpower views AI transformation not as a threat to be feared, but as a golden opportunity to accelerate the productivity and competitiveness of our national and global workforce,” Afriansyah said at the Pink Model United Nations (PinkMUN) 2026 at Binus University in Jakarta on Saturday.
Upskilling will improve workers’ existing skills, while reskilling will help those affected by technological disruption move into new sectors. Cross-skilling will combine skills from different fields to give workers greater career flexibility.
Afriansyah said the strategy was particularly important as more than 68 percent of Indonesia’s population is of working age, creating an opportunity for the country to capitalize on its demographic bonus.
But the large working-age population could become a liability if young workers’ skills do not match the needs of the modern labor market, he said.
“This extraordinary potential in numbers could become a boomerang if there is a skill mismatch between the skills possessed by young graduates and the actual needs of the modern labor market,” he said.
To narrow the gap, the ministry is reorienting vocational training curricula to include AI literacy, data analysis and automation, alongside critical thinking, work ethics, adaptability and leadership.
“Skills such as critical thinking, work ethics, adaptability and leadership are human capabilities that can never be replaced by machines or algorithms,” Afriansyah said.
The ministry is also modernizing vocational training and productivity centers and community vocational training centers with technology-based facilities, while improving instructors’ capabilities to keep pace with industry needs.
Vocational training, Afriansyah said, must remain closely connected to business and industry demand. Participants are also encouraged to obtain national competency certification from the National Professional Certification Agency (BNSP), based on Indonesia’s National Work Competency Standards (SKKNI).
Beyond technology skills, the ministry is seeking to strengthen worker protection as flexible work arrangements, including freelance employment, become more common.
It also plans to expand inclusive access to vocational training, including greater participation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), disability-friendly facilities, and broader access for young people in Indonesia’s underdeveloped, frontier and outermost areas.
Afriansyah urged young Indonesians to keep learning and adapting as technology develops.
“Be an adaptive generation, keep improving your competencies, make use of all training facilities provided by the state, and most importantly, safeguard together the vision of Golden Indonesia 2045,” he said.
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Translator: M Heriyanto, Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak
Editor: Primayanti
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