- YCAB and Garena, in November 2019, launched a partnership where Garena’s Free Fire and DJ Alok will help YCAB support the upskilling of youth in Indonesia.
- YCAB is using the funds raised for a program called Guru Digital (Digital Teachers), where an emphasis will be placed on digital and soft skills
As the world undergoes the Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, nations, industries, and individuals will need to adapt to the increasing role of technology in both the economy and human life. These systematic changes, marked by widespread technological transformation, have emphasised the importance of nurturing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and its related skills. In 2019, Sea collaborated with the World Economic Forum to survey over 10,000 youths in Indonesia. They found that tech skills such as software programming and design were ranked by youths among the top five most important skills for the future.
However, it is also equally important to equip the current and future workforce with crucial soft skills to ensure they have the resilience to adapt to the future of work. Deloitte and the Global Business Coalition identified soft skills (e.g. communication and collaboration) as integral for the future of work.
Supporting and better preparing educators to upskill youth in Indonesia
Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Johnny G. Plate, stated that to prepare for Industry 4.0, it is estimated that the country will need 9 million digital talents until 2030. To achieve this goal, Indonesia will need quality professional teachers, who are able to take advantage of the rapid advances in information technology. Accordingly, it becomes vital to support and upskill our Indonesian teachers so that they can provide their students with a quality STEM education and 21st century skills. A STEM education will inculcate critical thinking, digital literacy and problem solving while soft skills will allow youths to collaborate well, communicate effectively and resilience to adapt to any future challenges. These skill sets will support Indonesia’s Industry 4.0 transformation with strong human resource capabilities.
YCAB, Garena, and DJ Alok commit to preparing youth in Indonesia for Industry 4.0, through Guru Digital
Indonesia has allocated 20% of government spending to the education sector, with a big focus towards STEM. YCAB, Garena, and DJ Alok aims to support this through its Guru Digital (Digital Teachers) program. Guru Digital is an online training program for teachers to improve digital literacy and 21st century skills. This program will train teachers to develop their skills in coding, programming, and soft skills, namely problem solving, critical thinking, communication, empathy, and self-confidence. Teachers who receive the training will be able to apply it when teaching their students, so that the knowledge gained can improve the skills of future generations.
Guru Digital will better equip over 100,000 students with relevant digital and soft skills
Guru Digital began preparations in May 2020, while the training will take place from August to July 2021. The target participants of this program are 1000 teachers spread across five provinces: DKI Jakarta, Bali, Central Java, Yogyakarta Special Region, and East Java. Together with Yayasan Generasi Maju Berkarya (YGMB), Guru Digital training was conducted online over four days, including group discussions, questions and answers, and quizzes. In addition, participants are given information in advance through a mini workshop to introduce the content and applications used and are given mentoring sessions with trainers to discuss assignments. After completing the training, the teachers will be asked to create an interactive classroom curriculum to be applied to their respective classes. Teachers who are trained through this program will then continue to pass down their knowledge and skills to over 100,000 students to help them improve their skills in basic coding, programming, and 21st century skills. The top ten students of the program will receive a scholarship for the computer programming program at Hacktiv8.
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Veronica Colondam, CEO and Founder of YCAB Foundation said:
“In a digital era that is growing rapidly, digital literacy needs to be a focus in the field of education by equipping teachers and young people with technological skills. And this cooperation is an important step in producing talented young people and increasing the capacity of Indonesian teachers because quality teachers are needed by Indonesia.