Education and labour force in Central Java

Abstract

This study deals with education and the labour force in the province of Central Java, Indonesia. The relationship between education and the labour force includes several issues, such as education as investment in human capital to prepare qualified skills, the economic capacity to absorb educated people and the manpower policy to adjust demand for and supply of manpower. In this study, the relationship between education and the labour force has been viewed in this light. The primary source of data on education and the labour force was the 1980 census. The 1971 census, the 1976 Labour Force Survey, the 1985 Intercensal Population Survey and Jawa Tengah Dalam Angka (Central Java Year Books) were selected as the complements. The manpower policy data were obtained from the Repelita (Five Year Development Plans). The educational policy in Central Java, in terms of the quantity, has been succesful during the period 1971 to 1985, and resulted in rapid growth of educated labour force. Meanwhile, the economic policy on economic growth has also been succesful, but it has offered only limited employment growth and consequently resulted in unemployment. The unemployment rate among educated people (secondary and tertiary graduates) was higher than among the less educated people (primary graduates and below). The educational policy is producing graduates to achieve the desirable labour force pyramid, while the current economic difficulties will narrow employment growth in the future. According to employment projections, the increasing unemployment rate among secondary graduates, which began during 1980-1985, is likely to continue in the future. The government has established pre-employment training for the period 1984- 1989, which is excessive compared with the additional employment opportunities for that period, while the number of pre-employment training programs for secondary graduates is inadequate. Educated people who are unemployed are likely to move to lower occupations and consequently improve the quality of labour force in lower occupations.