SURABAYA - Deputy Migrant Workers Protection Minister Dzulfikar Ahmad Tawalla inaugurated a Migrant Center at Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya to prepare candidates for formal-sector jobs abroad.

The center, inaugurated on Aug. 29, will provide language training, skills development and certification as part of efforts to prepare more Indonesian migrant workers for skilled formal employment overseas.

Dzulfikar said the government is encouraging other universities to establish similar facilities. “We just held a meeting with around 23 universities regarding this facility development,” he said.

Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya, known as Umsura, plans to recruit an initial 200 participants and begin identifying candidates in September.

The program will not be limited to university students. Senior and vocational high school graduates, as well as Diploma-3 and bachelor’s degree holders, will also be eligible for training.

The Migrant Center will initially provide training in caregiving, professional nursing, construction, operational work and technical skills based on overseas employer demand. English, Mandarin, Japanese and German courses are also being prepared to strengthen candidates’ language skills before placement.

Healthcare is expected to be one of the center’s main areas of focus. Dzulfikar said overseas job orders for healthcare workers recorded through the ministry’s SISKOP2MI system had remained high during the previous three years.

Umsura already has healthcare training and certification facilities, including an Objective Structured Clinical Examination room.

The center also supports the government’s SMK Go Global program. The program targets around 40,000 prospective migrant workers in 2026 as part of a broader goal to prepare and place 500,000 skilled workers from 2026 through 2029.

The Surabaya facility follows an April cooperation agreement between the ministry and higher-education institutions aimed at expanding training, placement preparation and migrant-worker protection through universities.

Dzulfikar said the government wants more universities to join the initiative as it strengthens pathways into formal overseas employment.

“We hope that in the future there will be more, so that the government's efforts, currently led by President Prabowo Subianto, to improve the formal placement ecosystem, can soon be realized,” Dzulfikar said.