Indonesia is currently facing the phenomenon of brain drain, where intellectuals, scientists, and scholars choose to settle abroad.
According to data from the Directorate General of Immigration, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, 3,912 Indonesian citizens switched to Singaporean citizenship from 2019 to 2022.
Most of these citizens are within the productive age range of 25-35. Furthermore, according to The Global Economy’s human flights and brain index rankings for 2024, Indonesia currently ranks 88th out of 175 countries.
UGM Social Development and Welfare expert Dr. Hempri Suyatna noted that the brain drain phenomenon in Indonesia has been occurring for a long time.
For example, in the 1960s, many Indonesian students studying abroad chose not to return to Indonesia. They preferred working abroad.
“This phenomenon continues today, where many skilled and professional Indonesian workers choose to pursue careers abroad rather than in Indonesia,” said Dr. Suyatna Thursday (Jan. 23).
According to Dr. Suyatna, the thousands of Indonesian citizens who have chosen to move to Singapore over three consecutive years emphasize that Indonesia is at risk of losing high-quality human resources with potential.
Moreover, this condition indicates that Singapore is a more comfortable place for careers.
“It can be said that Singapore is perceived as a better place for career opportunities and access to economic and educational prospects,” he explained.
Dr. Suyatna expressed disappointment over the significant number of productive-aged human resources opting to switch citizenship, as they are still very much needed to drive development in Indonesia.
“These young individuals possess great potential, creativity, and superior innovation. It is certainly unfortunate when they have to leave for abroad. Not only does Indonesia lack skilled labor, but this may also lead to economic disparities between countries and slow down development acceleration in Indonesia,” he said.
Dr. Suyatna pointed out that the link and match concept could serve as a solution to minimize the brain drain phenomenon, especially since this program has been developed for a long time.
Most recently, during Minister Nadiem Makarim’s era, the Kampus Merdeka program has collaborated extensively through various initiatives such as internships, entrepreneurship, student exchanges, and others.
These models are quite appealing to ensure that students are ready for the job market upon graduation. However, several challenges are encountered in practice.
“For instance, post-activity mentoring and some students participating in these programs are often more focused on obtaining grades, so the skills learned during the program are not fully developed,” he elaborated.
Dr. Suyatna also urged the government to immediately develop a grand design for population development, which would serve as a blueprint for mapping job demand and availability that align with the skills of university graduates.
“The hope is that a link and match between education and the job market will help minimize skilled young people choosing to work abroad,” he explained.
However, this job market mapping is not enough, considering the dynamic nature of the labor market.
This program will be futile as long as recruitment processes still rely on kinship or familial connections, also known as ‘Ordal’ (internal referrals).
“We often see this practice dominating here, so those with good competence are not necessarily accepted into the job market,” he concluded.
Author: Kezia Dwina Nathania
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photo: Freepik