KUALA LUMPUR - Deputy Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (KP2MI), Christina Aryani, outlined the government’s strategy to expand overseas job opportunities and strengthen the competitiveness of Indonesian migrant workers at the Indonesia Economic Summit in Jakarta, on 4 February.

She said the government aims to ensure migrant workers have the skills, quality and protection needed to compete globally and achieve better welfare abroad.

“As mandated to us, we want Indonesian migrant workers to have strong quality when working overseas, and we also want to optimise placements so they can increase their income and welfare,” Christina said in a written statement issued, last Thursday.

Christina said the establishment of the Ministry for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers in 2024 followed two key directives from President Prabowo Subianto.

The first mandate is to strengthen protection for migrant workers before departure, during employment and after returning home, while the second focuses on improving skills and capacity through vocational training and upskilling programmes.

She also highlighted Indonesia’s demographic advantage, noting that the country had about 183 million people of working age in 2025, while many destination countries face ageing populations and labour shortages.

Despite this, overseas job placement remains underutilised, with only about 62,000 or 17.5% of the 350,000 recorded overseas job vacancies filled, even though more than 297,000 migrant workers were placed abroad in 2025.

“To respond to this opportunity, the government has set eight strategies to develop job opportunities and improve the competitiveness of Indonesian migrant workers,” she said.

One key strategy is the establishment of Migrant Centres at universities, with around 10 institutions currently partnering the ministry to better prepare prospective migrant workers.

The government is also running the SMK Go Global programme to equip vocational school graduates with internationally recognised skills and certifications for safe and legal overseas employment.

“This programme targets 500,000 participants, comprising 300,000 vocational school graduates and 200,000 members of the public, in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s direction,” she said.

To support financing needs, the ministry has strengthened access to Migrant Worker People’s Business Credit (KUR PMI) by working with 17 banks, with a total loan ceiling of Rp331 billion (USD19.6 million).

“This Migrant Worker Credit can be used for placement costs such as airfare, medical checks, documents, training and certification, and the programme is scheduled for a nationwide launch in March 2026,” she added.