Indonesia government to build a National Talent Management body

The Indonesia government is planning to create a National Talent Management body this year in an effort to enhance human capacity development, which the President said was at the top of the agenda in his second term.

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko was quoted in media that the body, National Talent Management (MTN), would gather data on talented Indonesians who have yet to be managed properly.

“Super-talented Indonesians are still scattered everywhere and have yet to be managed well. It is our job to manage,” he said during a press conference after a ministerial meeting at the Executive Office of the President in Jakarta.

By July next year, data on talented individuals in priority sectors, which include the arts, science and sport, would be compiled, Moeldoko added.

He also shared that the government was still deciding on the grand design and had not entered into detailed preparations, such as determining the talent criteria and selecting who would manage the agency.

Moeldoko said there were three options for the set-up of the MTN, which would be managed by a new agency under a ministry or by creating a task force.

"Soon we will hold a limited meeting, and the President will decide on the form of national talent management," he said.

Meanwhile, Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim expressed hopes over the MTN not only supporting economic growth but also instilling confidence in young talents.

The idea for a National Talent Management body was mentioned by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo when he gave his first political speech after his reelection in July. He then said he would create an “Indonesian talent management institution” that would “facilitate and support education and self-improvement for Indonesia's talents”.

Human development is central to Jokowi's second-term agenda, as the President said in his inaugural speech in August that Indonesians should have world-class level human capital to expand the country's influence in international markets, putting forward reforms in the education system and vocational schools so that the Indonesia Onward Cabinet could realize the vision.