Workforce development in Indonesia: Program Kartu Prakerja

The Indonesian government's Kartu Prakerja Program, launched in 2020, targets large-scale skill development, combining financial assistance for training courses with additional cash incentives upon completion. Initiated at a time when only 9.51% of the workforce had received training, the program was crucial for job seekers to upgrade their skills to be more productive and individuals to enhance their entrepreneurial skills. Amid the pandemic, Prakerja expanded its role to support economic stability and purchasing power as part of the National Economic Recovery Program between 2020-2022. Praised by the Asian Development Bank for its agility and adaptability as a social protection program implementing active labor market policy, the Prakerja program refocused on skill development in 2023. In less than 4 years, Prakerja had reached over 17.5 million beneficiaries across Indonesia, leveraging digital technology to bridge the skill gap on a vast scale.

The Kartu Prakerja Program has been thoroughly studied by Harvard and MIT researchers, and recognized by UN DESA as one of its SDG Acceleration Actions. Presisi Indonesia study (2021), which UNDP supported, found that this Program improves work competency, productivity, and competitiveness; helping to increase its beneficiaries income by around 17-21% and their entrepreneurial skill by more than 49% higher than non-beneficiaries.

The Program was initiated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and is overseen by the Job Creation Committee consisting of 14 Minister-level Officials, led by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs. It is a Digital Platform that uses Cloud Computing Technology and implements a G2P (Government-to-Person) payment mechanism that is user-centric and direct from the government treasury to the user’s bank/e-wallet accounts. According to the World Bank, a staggering 96.4% of beneficiaries expressed satisfaction with the cashless disbursement system, particularly benefiting those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Most importantly, the program built an Ecosystem of multi-stakeholders consisting of Job Platforms, E-Commerce, FinTech and Banks, training providers, Universities, and NGOs.

Providing various modes of training, including online, offline, hybrid, and self-paced learning, Prakerja offers more flexible training choices to the workforce. This equips beneficiaries with both hard and soft skills needed for the future of work, ultimately helping the labor force adapt to existing and emerging disruptions that threaten the jobs and well-being of many people.