From labor demand to higher-value work for Indonesian migrants

 The global labor market offers hundreds of thousands of job opportunities to Indonesian migrant workers, yet most have not translated into placements.

For Indonesia, the challenge is no longer simply finding overseas markets, but turning labor demand into suitable jobs that offer greater value to workers and the economy.

Data from the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Information System (SIP2MI) showed 292,471 active overseas job openings as of September 20, 2026.

Of these, 216,236, or 73.93 percent, remained unfilled. The gap highlights a disconnect between identified labor demand and the capacity of the placement system to turn that demand into actual jobs.

That gap cannot be attributed to a single problem. Some vacancies may remain open because of recruitment processes, documentation, destination-country requirements, or administrative capacity.

In Turkiye, for example, around 30,000 verified job orders could potentially be filled by Indonesian workers, but visa-processing capacity is limited to about 12,000 to 15,000 applications a year.

The number of unfilled vacancies remains important because it shows where the placement process needs closer examination. Deputy Minister for Migrant Worker Protection Christina Aryani stressed that preparing workers cannot stop at training. Skills must be linked to industry needs and ultimately lead to placement.

The key question, therefore, is not simply how many prospective workers are trained, but how many training outcomes translate into placements for jobs that actually require those skills.

This shifts the focus toward what happens at each stage of the process, rather than how many programs are conducted.

That approach could also prevent policy from becoming overly reliant on two easily measured indicators: the number of people trained and the number placed overseas.

Both remain important, but neither is enough to show whether market demand is being met by workers with the right skills.

Tracking outcomes at each stage would make it easier for the government and placement partners to identify where the process is breaking down and respond accordingly.

Linking supply to demand

The shift is already visible in the government’s “SMK Go Global” program, which prepares prospective migrant workers for overseas jobs through skills training, certification, and language training.

As of September 17, 2026, at least 18,110 participants had registered and 4,601 had entered training, against a target of 40,000 participants in 2026. Training covers language skills, technical competencies, and certification tailored to the requirements of destination countries.

Minister for Migrant Worker Protection Mukhtarudin said curricula and training should be based on labor market demand rather than estimates. The mapping covers sectors, positions, destination countries, qualifications, and required skills.

That policy premise has a clear implication. If labor demand is used to determine the skills workers need, the results should also be traceable to that demand.

For each labor request, policymakers should be able to see how many candidates are being prepared, how many meet the qualifications, and how many are ultimately placed.

Such a data chain would show where the process stops. If workers have acquired the required skills but have not departed, the bottleneck may lie beyond training.

If vacancies exist but candidates do not meet the requirements, the problem lies in workforce readiness. If both sides are ready but placement is delayed, administrative procedures or destination-country requirements may be the more decisive factors.

Under this approach, the 216,236 unfilled vacancies are not merely missed opportunities. They become a way to identify which parts of the process from labor demand to placement require improvement.