Tangerang. Banten. Amid a wave of mass layoffs hitting various sectors across Indonesia, finalists of the 2025 Putri Otonomi Indonesia (POI), or Indonesia's Miss Autonomy pageant, are speaking out, offering solutions and expressing concern about rising unemployment.

Although Indonesia's open unemployment rate slightly decreased to 4.76 percent in February 2025 from 4.82 percent the year before, the total number of unemployed people increased by 80,000, reaching 7.28 million, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). Unemployment among Gen Z (15-24) is still the highest compared to other age groups, standing at 16.16 percent.

Niki Anartia, a finalist from Bandung, called for stronger collaboration between the government and young entrepreneurs. “If I win POI 2025, I want to become a bridge between young business owners and government programs that can help them improve their skills,” Niki told Beritasatu.com on Friday.

She added that Gen Z is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and believes that empowering youth through training and support can help address job losses.

Jesicha Siby, representing North Minahasa, shared Niki’s sentiments, urging young people to believe in themselves and their ability to compete in today’s job market. She praised her local government’s efforts to reduce unemployment through vocational training programs such as BLK.

“These initiatives are essential in helping the community reduce poverty and improve job prospects,” Jesicha said.

As part of their preparation for the POI 2025 grand final, which will take place on May 30 in North Minahasa, the finalists visited B-Universe headquarters in PIK 2, Jakarta. There, they gained firsthand experience of the media industry and received public speaking training from B-Universe presenter Iqbal.

“This training is vital for them, especially ahead of the grand final where communication skills are key,” said Sarman Simanjorang, Executive Director of the Association of Indonesian Regency Governments (Apkasi), who accompanied the group.

Sarman hopes that the event will inspire new talent to emerge in the media industry. He also revealed that POI 2025, now in its fifth year, will collaborate with the Regional Representative Council (DPD), with future winners set to serve as DPD ambassadors.

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