Jakarta (ILO news) – Committed to making a difference in people’s lives, Ayu Dwi Putri and Dion Ruben Timotius, are striving to help Indonesian jobseekers find pathways to high-quality employment.
Despite Indonesia’s continued resilience amid worldwide instability, vulnerable groups such as youth, women and persons with disabilities continue to face labour market challenges. Meanwhile, in 2024, more than 290,000 Indonesians migrated abroad for better work opportunities, with over 200,000 being female migrants.
At the start of their careers, Ayu and Dion – now both public employment services counsellors with the Directorate General of Manpower Placement Development and Employment Opportunity Expansion (BINAPENTA & PKK) – went through struggles similar to those faced by many young jobseekers they now assist. These include unstable labour market conditions, long working hours and limited job security.
Drawing on first-hand experience for more effective counselling
“After I finished my bachelor’s degree, I moved back to my hometown, Jakarta, and encountered more roadblocks in life. I was unemployed for several months. But after applying multiple times to multiple companies in different sectors then, I landed my first job at a state-owned construction company. However, I decided to make another big decision to switch jobs and become a civil servant,” said Dion Ruben Timotius.
Perseverance in their early careers and extensive experience with people from all walks of life have helped shape their approach to targeted counselling.
“During my time as a counsellor at the Office of Manpower, Transmigration and Energy, I’ve encountered a lot of people. I could sympathize with my clients because I felt the same during my dark days. I could feel their frustration in our conversations. Most of the time, it happened because whenever they dropped their CVs or attended an interview, they never got called back or received any kind of feedback after they attended multiple rounds of interview,” said Dion Ruben Timotius.
Similar to Dion, Ayu highly values her career and understand the immense impact of her counselling on those she supports. This has led her to engage in continuous professional development to enhance the quality of her job counselling.
“I believe that being a Public Employment Services counsellor is a meaningful and noble profession because we have the opportunity to help people improve their lives. This role allows us to connect people with opportunities that match their skills and aspirations while also supporting employers in finding qualified workers,” said Ayu Dwi Putri.
“Through my work, I have learned that even small guidance can have a significant impact on their future. This realization motivates me to continuously improve my competencies and stay updated with labour market developments, so I can provide more accurate and practical advice for jobseekers,” said Ayu Dwi Putri.
Ongoing capacity development and sharing of good practices key to quality public employment services
Since 2023, the International Labour Organization, through the Promoting the Global Development Initiative with a focus on South-South Cooperation in employment in ASEAN project, with support from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China, has been actively co-designing public employment services trainings with Directorate General of Manpower Placement Development and Employment Opportunity Expansion(Directorate General BINAPENTA & PKK) and rolling them out to over 3,100 employment counsellors across the country, combining online, in-person, provincial and thematic sessions. Special training themes were selected based on Indonesia’s labour market needs, covering employment services for persons with disabilities, outward migrants and entrepreneurs.
“The training has been very valuable in enhancing my knowledge, skills, and confidence as a public employment services counsellor. The programme provided comprehensive sessions that strengthened my capacity to deliver more effective and inclusive employment services,” said Ayu Dwi Putri.
“In particular, the diagnostic interview sessions have been highly beneficial in improving my competency to liaise with jobseekers, build a rapport and from then move on to identify their interests, talents, and career goals. It has been particularly valuable for my role in assisting women and persons with disabilities to help them discover often hidden or not enough valued strengths and successfully connect with inclusive companies, training programmes, or entrepreneur programmes, including those that my department implements,” added Ayu Dwi Putri.
Knowledge sharing and peer-learning have proven to be beneficial for Dion in adapting and applying the good practices and lessons learned from others working in the same field.
“I also learned from my fellow counsellors across Indonesia operating in, at times a very different economic landscape and with very different type of customers. For instance, after returning from the roll-out trainings, I was able to apply the key takeaways to support young jobseekers from an orphanage and help them to get an apprenticeship in Japan in knife-making. I also helped a couple of women to expand knowledge of their rights at work while providing them with psychological and emotional support,” added Dion Ruben Timotius.
Continuous capacity building and exchange of community practices have helped both Ayu and Dion in improving their counselling skills and contributing positively to the Indonesian labour market and to the broader goal of ensuring no one is left behind.
“Every day presents new challenges, but also the satisfaction of making a difference in people’s lives. That sense of purpose continues to motivate me in this career,” concluded Ayu Dwi Putri.
For further information please contact:
Tarinee Youkhaw
Advocacy & Knowledge Management Officer
ILO ProSSCE-ASEAN project
Email: youkhaw@ilo.org