Hong Kong Becomes Top Destination for Indonesian Migrant Workers

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) saw off 597 Indonesian Migrant Workers (IMWs) to South Korea through a government-to-government (GTG) scheme at the El Royale Hotel, Jakarta, on Monday (17/10/2022).

In his remarks, Jokowi expressed his pleasure at the departure, stating that the departing IMWs were human resources (HR) with high competence, skills, education, and spirit.

“I saw their (the IMWs’) spirit, a truly optimistic spirit. I am pleased because these brothers and sisters are prepared, have received training, and have clear goals,” Jokowi said, as quoted in an official press release from the State Secretariat.

The President also expressed his happiness at the increasing demand for IMWs through other schemes, such as private-to-private and business-to-business.

Therefore, the President requested relevant ministries/institutions, namely the Ministry of Manpower and the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI), to prepare for this demand so that the workforce sent abroad truly possesses good skills.

Based on BP2MI data, the placement of IMWs in South Korea reached 8,304 workers during the January-September 2022 period. The number of IMWs placed in the Land of Ginseng accounts for 6.76% of the total placement of IMWs in the first nine months of this year, which amounted to 122,870 workers.

Hong Kong was the main destination country for IMW placement during the January-September 2022 period, reaching 42,152 workers (34.31%). This was followed by Taiwan with 30,363 workers (24.71%), and Malaysia with 17,854 workers (14.53%).

IMWs with a Senior High School (SMU) education level were the most numerous sent abroad. The following shows the placement of IMWs by education level during the January-September 2022 period:

* Postgraduate: 29 workers
* Bachelor's Degree: 1,464 workers
* Diploma: 3,248 workers
* Senior High School (SMU): 57,525 workers
* Junior High School (SMP): 38,598 workers
* Elementary School (SD): 22,006 workers