DECARBONISATION of the energy system towards net zero emissions (NZE) in line with the Paris Agreement to limit the earth’s temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius will create broad employment opportunities and jobs, especially for the younger generation.
Based on a study by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) entitled Deep decarbonization of Indonesia’s energy system, the number of jobs created in the electricity sector alone is estimated to reach up to 3.2 million jobs in 2050.
The number of jobs will increase if a comprehensive energy system decarbonization strategy is implemented. IESR assesses that the potential for creating new jobs requires the readiness of human resources (HR) who have the expertise and special skills needed.
For this reason, strategic policy support is needed to encourage vocational and higher education training so that the energy transition can create sustainable economic opportunities for the entire community.
IESR Executive Director, Fabby Tumiwa, at the Webinar Road to Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD): Measuring the Readiness of Indonesian Human Resources in the Energy Transition Process, highlighted the phenomenon of high open unemployment rates dominated by Gen Z (age group 15-24 years).
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of unemployed in the Gen Z age group reached 3.5 million people out of a total of 7.2 million unemployed as of February 2024.
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He emphasized that jobs created from the energy transition process will require highly competitive human resources with special skills and certification.
“To meet the workforce needs in the energy transition era, the role of educational institutions, such as vocational schools, colleges, and universities, is important. For example, vocational schools majoring in light vehicle automotive can start switching to studying the green building vehicle industry. Tens of thousands of skilled technicians are needed to install high-standard solar power plants in the next few years. The government is also expected to encourage and facilitate new study programs based on expertise needs to support the energy transition, which are currently still very limited in Indonesia,” added Fabby.
IESR encourages the government to prepare human resources in Indonesia through training and increasing workforce capacity, as well as strengthening coordination between related ministries. IESR offers five strategies to ensure that Indonesian human resources are highly competitive in the energy transition era.
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First, identify the expertise and skills needed for the energy transition and formulate a targeted strategy to develop the expertise, skills and capacity of the skilled workforce needed in the clean energy sector. Second, increase the budget to build training facilities, education and certification of clean energy technology.
Third, improving coordination between policy makers related to the energy transition and agencies responsible for preparing the workforce and professional experts, namely the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, so that they are actively involved in discussing the energy transition to ensure the readiness of the workforce sector to face changes in the landscape of job opportunities and employment.
Fourth, prepare training and capacity building programs for workers from the fossil energy sector so that they can master jobs in the clean energy sector and can switch when the energy transition begins to occur. Fifth, facilitate job transitions to reduce potential unemployment due to the energy transition by using the government’s fiscal capacity.
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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM)’s Senior Expert Widyaiswara Ahmad Khulaemi, said that his party is implementing two strategies to improve the quality of human resources, namely training and certification. For example, energy audit training, which covers the fields of electricity, mechanics and buildings. In 2023, around 189 energy auditors have been certified.
In addition, there is the Patriot and Guerrilla program, which introduces the younger generation, especially final year students, to various types of renewable energy such as solar, wind and water energy.
Currently, there are four national priority programs of the Center for Human Resource Development for Electricity, New, Renewable Energy, and Energy Conservation (PPSDM KEBTKE) for 2024, including community training programs for PLTS, PLTMH, Electric Power Utilization Installations (IPTL) and conversion of BBM motorbikes to electric motorbikes. Not only that, we are currently preparing a plan for a community training program in the 2025 budget year and developing training programs for industry and competency certification for workers in the sector
Director of Partnership and Alignment of Business World and Industry World, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) Adi Nuryanto said that the energy transition process brings great opportunities as well as challenges due to the gap between industry needs and education curriculum.
For this reason, collaboration with industry is very important, including internship programs, joint curriculum development, teaching by industry practitioners, project-based learning, competency certification, applied research, and a commitment to workforce absorption.
“Vocational education must also receive updates from the industrial world to remain relevant. Currently, vocational education has shown significant progress by involving 508 students and 3,031 vocational schools in programs related to renewable energy. However, vocational education still requires assistance from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and industry so that students have practical experience in the industry and a deep understanding of business processes in the renewable energy industry,” Adi emphasized.
Discussions on ensuring that the energy transition process is fair, especially for affected workers, will be discussed further at the Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD) 2024 which will take place on 14-16 October 2024. The theme of IETD 2024 is “Realizing a Just and Targeted Energy Transition”. Registration can be accessed through (N-2)
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