Indonesian Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah on May 23 cited a report from the country's Statistics Agency (BPS) saying that Indonesia has a total of 44.47 million people aged 15-24 in 2023, of whom about 9.9 million people aged 15-24 are unemployed.
Most unemployed young people or those who are not participating in productive activities belong to Generation Z, who were born between 1997 and 2012.
According to Ida, one of the reasons for the high unemployment rate among youths is the mismatch between the skills that graduates possess and the industrial needs of the labour market.
She said that Indonesia needs to focus on implementing President Joko Widodo's 2022 directive on restoring education and vocational training.
In particular, vocational education and training must adapt to the needs of business and industry, she added.
In addition, the Ministry of Education should cooperate with relevant ministries and branches to develop solutions to enhance the quality of capable labour resources to meet labor market needs.