Jakarta. Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto hopes that President-Elect Prabowo Subianto will continue the pre-employment card program after he assumes office later this month.

The government first launched the pre-employment card program back in 2020 as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic which had sparked mass layoffs. The pre-employment card lets its participants take training to hone their skills. Although years have passed since the pandemic hit the country, Airlangga is hoping that Prabowo will still implement the program to narrow the skills gap between Indonesian fresh graduates and what employers need.

“I hope Mr. Prabowo and his vice president Gibran Rakabuming Raka will continue the pre-employment card,” Airlangga told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.

He added: “We will do our best to make sure that people can still enjoy the benefits of this program.”

Such skills training assistance is important for Indonesian youths so they will be more flexible in switching from one job to the other. Pre-employment card is also expected to encourage Indonesians to keep learning beyond formal institutions amidst emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

“The presence of AI is not only a threat to the blue-collar workers but also the office workers or white-collar workers,” Airlangga said.

The government reported as many as 18.9 million people have participated in the pre-employment card program since its launch in April 2020. The program has also partnered with 590 institutions to offer at least 5,900 training sessions.