From 20 February to 3 March 2023, the Indonesian Government hosted an international training program entitled Second Exchange of South-South and Triangular Cooperation on Technical and Vocational Education Training on Leather Tanning (SSTC TVET) in Yogyakarta. Ten participants from Tanzania and Indonesia, as well as two representatives from Tanzania's Dar Es Salaam University of Technology, are taking part in this South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) program.
This training is a form of multi-stakeholders partnership among the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu), the Ministry of State Secretariat (Kemensetneg), the Ministry of Industry (Ministry of Industry), The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Government of Tanzania.
Noviyanti, Head of the International Technical Cooperation Bureau of Ministry of State Secretariat, stated in her remarks that this training reflects the importance of multi-stakeholder cooperation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in Equitable Access to Education (Goal Number 4 – Quality of Education). This is consistent with Indonesia's role as an OECD key partner in development cooperation to achieve SDG 9 in industry, innovation, and infrastructure, particularly in providing technical assistance to African nations.
Furthermore, the TVET program intended to disseminate Indonesian best practices in the implementation of vocational education as a method of reducing youth unemployment. "Indonesia has significant potential in the leather sector, as evidenced by a 34.28% rise in the amount of leather product exports in the third quarter of 2022. This demonstrates how vital leather products are to the Indonesian economy "said Emmy Suryandari, Head of the Center for Industrial Vocational Education Development of the Ministry of Industry.
It is envisaged that the TVET program would motivate trainees to be able to apply the link between education and economic success in the Indonesian leather sector in their home country. Moreover, Emmy stated that this program might serve as a medium for exchanging information and expertise about the leather industry in both Indonesia and Tanzania.
Zulazmi, Principal Advisor of SDGs SSTC, GIZ, emphasized the significance of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ATK Yogyakarta Polytechnic and Tanzania's Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, which established the TVET program. This formal agreement is anticipated to mark the beginning of Indonesia, Tanzania, and Germany's continued SSTC.
Yogyakarta ATK Polytechnic, is the primary venue for TVET training, is Southeast Asia's only vocational education school with qualifications in the field of leather processing.
The curriculum of this TVET program allows participants to be actively involved in learning theory and practice in the leather production process. One method is to pay visits to many leather producers in Yogyakarta spanning from small, medium, to large scale, enabling participants to interact directly with producers and gain practical knowledge for the growth of the Tanzania's leather industry sector.