Indonesia, Australia sign MoU on skills development exchange

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: Indonesia and Australia agreed to strengthen cooperation on skills development exchange by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here on Friday.

The MoU signing was carried out by Secretary General of the Manpower Ministry Anwar Sanusi, and Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams.

Sanusi informed that the new MoU is an amendment to the previous agreement on the Indonesia-Australia Skills Development Exchange Pilot Project.

The MoU was signed under the framework of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), which was signed on March 4, 2019.

The pilot project was intended to open opportunities for the exchange of skilled individuals to work short-term or for up to six months in companies in Indonesia or Australia.

It was expected that the participants of the exchange program would improve their skills by working in certain sectors based on their expertise.

“However, during the four years of this MoU implementation, it experienced several obstacles and challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and border restrictions,” Sanusi said.

Due to the barriers, the MoU implementation did not run optimally and the target set by Australia and Indonesia was not achieved.

Therefore, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reviewed the MoU to improve the pilot project and its mechanism and make it more beneficial and easier to implement.

Sanusi said there are several important things in the new MoU that have been agreed by both parties, such as allowing skilled individuals in certain sectors to be placed in companies in Indonesia and Australia for up to 12 months.

Under this program, the participants will increase their work experience, and strengthen their understanding of business practices and culture in both countries.

The new MoU will also enable businesses to provide workplace-based training to employees so that they can improve their skills and competencies.