The outbreak of COVID-19 has been posing a significant challenge on skills development. Lockdowns, restriction of movements and physical distancing have caused the closure of education and training facilities, including vocational training centres across Indonesia.

Responding to this challenge, a number of educational institutions, including technical vocational education and training (TVET), have shifted their programme into a home-based learning. Yet, this sudden shift has made some TVETs struggling to adapt with the new home-based education mechanism.

To assist the adaption and accelerate the online distance learning in the country, the ILO in collaboration with the Australian Embassy in Indonesia are organizing a series of webinars for two months from June to August. The webinar, titled "Online Vocational Learning: Necessary Policies”, held on 18 June, has marked the first webinar. These webinars are conducted by the ILO through its Industry Skills for Inclusive Growth (In-Sight) Second Phase Project.

These series of activities are also a follow-up to the public dialogue on future distance learning in Indonesia, jointly held by the ILO, Governments of Japan and Australia last December.

Muchtar Azis, Ministry of Manpower’s Director for Competency Standard, highlighted the urgent need for public vocational training centres to adapt with the implementation of digital distance learning programme. Thus, the government is in the process of revising the vocational regulation to address skills mismatch and ensure the readiness of labour force to industrial revolution 4.0.

“We are now conducting a pilot blended learning programme on hospitality in three provinces of South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi and East Kalimantan. These pilot programmes are led by the industry from the selection of participants, curriculum development to assessment and on-the-job training,” stated Azis before more than 350 participants, representing policymakers, practitioners, workers’ and employers’ organizations and learning providers from across country.

Meanwhile Michiko Miyamoto, Country Director of the ILO for Indonesia, urged the participants to take the opportunity given by the pandemic to strengthen and improve the online distance learning development in the country. “It is very timely for Indonesia, considering its vast geographical condition and urban-rural division in accessing skills development opportunities. We should take benefits of the situation by strengthening Indonesia’s digital distance learning in order to provide greater access for all people of Indonesia wherever they are to skills development programmes during and beyond the pandemic,” she said.

Learning from the experience of Australia

To provide a better understanding about the digital learning mechanism, Hirania Wiryasti, ILO’s Project Officer for Distance Learning, presented advantages and disadvantages as well as benefits of digital distance learning programme. Some benefits include flexibility, wider range of participants, inclusivity, accessible and up to date with the latest development.

“To ensure the effectiveness of this digital learning mechanism, we should take into account local conditions and should be adaptive by combining online and offline technologies for certain areas with lack of technology and infrastructure. We can also use a blended learning mechanism by utilizing existing community learning centres and involving industry available at the local level,” explained Hirania.

Sharing the advanced experience of Australia, Elizabeth Campbell-Dorning, the Australian Embassy’s Science and Education Counselor, said that Australia has promoted digital learning even before the pandemic. The country has also become a partner of Indonesia in education and training areas, including skills development.

The Australian TVET system model has supported by three key pillars: National standards for training providers, national framework for qualifications and national regulations. These pillars have supported current and future delivery of online TVET while maintaining the quality and industrial standards.

“The main keys for online learning is flexible, accessible and standardized. The pandemic has accelerated the implementation of online learning programme. Before it was only 10 percent of the Australian TVET interested in delivering online programme. To date, all of them has delivered or been in transition to deliver online learning programme,” she stated.

Enhancing Indonesia’s digital distance learning

As part of the effort to support the development of digital distance learning, these series of webinars will present an overall ten related topics during the period of two months. Other topics include online skill training system, design of skills training programme, utilization of new technology for skills training, development of virtual reality, skills development for instructors/mentors, certification, standardization and digital division.

“We hope by the end of these series of webinars, we can contribute to the national efforts to enhancing the implementation of digital distance learning. We support Indonesian government, employers’ and workers’ organizations in improving skills development policy and system, promoting digital skills and linking TVET to the labour market information,” stated Tauvik Muhamad, the ILO’s project manager of skills development.

Funded by the Government of Japan, the second phase of In-Sight Project aims to promote mechanisms and practical approaches that enable industries and workplaces to become drivers of sustainable and inclusive growth in the Asian region. In Indonesia, the project closely works with government, workers’ and employers’ organizations.