In 2024, Indonesia deployed 297,000 overseas workers, contributing 251 trillion IDR to foreign exchange revenues and increasing economic growth by 0.36%. This programme also helped reduce unemployment by nearly 4%, benefiting 7.47 million workers.
Despite these achievements, the 2024 figures fell short of meeting the global labour market’s demand for 1.35 million workers. To address this, the government has raised its 2025 target and is intensifying efforts to maximise overseas job opportunities to further stimulate the national economy.
Key strategies include enhancing workers' language skills, with English prioritised starting from elementary education. This aims to improve the competitiveness of Indonesian workers.
Besides, prospective overseas workers will undergo skill certification, safety training, and other preparatory programmes.
Karding emphasised that building the capacity of Indonesian workers will also help reduce illegal labour practices and exploitation abroad.
Currently, approximately 5 million Indonesians are employed in over 100 countries, primarily in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of Korea. However, an equal number of Indonesians are believed to be working overseas illegally.
To cope this issue, Indonesia has developed the SISKOP2MI system, a digital platform to safeguard the rights of Indonesian migrant workers and streamline protective services.
