Selected Speaker for IDF 2019: Marthella Rivera Presents MagangIn, the Way In for People with Disabilities to the World of Working

Marthella Rivera Roidatua

 

Opportunities for an internship (magang) for persons with disabilities are often freelancing in nature and ends without giving them any certificate, let alone any chance to continue working. A selected speaker for Indonesia Development Forum (IDF) 2019, Marthella Rivera Roidatua, thinks that this condition needs to be improved by creating a sustainable internship concept. This concept was presented in a paper entitled “MagangIn: An Alternative to Creating Disability Inclusive Job Market.”

“MagangIn or inclusive internship have huge potential and are feasible to be carried out as innovations to creating inclusive job market, either in the government sector, State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), or private sector,” explained Marthella.

Marthella currently works as a First Expert Researcher in Social Policies at the Ministry of Villages, Underdeveloped Regions, and Transmigration. Previously, she worked in the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and was tasked to develop Government Regulations and Master Plan for Disability Inclusive Development.

Marthella also established an organisation tasked with convening persons with disabilities and non-disabilities called Inclusive Indonesia Connection or Koneksi Indonesia Inklusif (Konekin). Konekin also provides training on inclusiveness to Human Resource Developments (HRDs) in a number of companies. Marthella prepared the paper on MagangIn, which was presented in IDF 2019, with Chintia Octenta, a Civil Servant Candidate (CPNS) in the Policy Analyst Division of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

The foundation for creating the concept of MagangIn is Law Number 8 Year 2016 on Persons with Disabilities and Law Number 13 Year 2003 on Manpower. The former states an obligation to hire at least 2 percent of persons with disabilities for government institutions and State-Owned Corporations (BUMN), and 1 percent for private institutions.

“In fact, even though this Law has been in effect for more than two years, dissemination to the business sector still leaves much to be desired. Also, we do not have the capacity to force companies to meet this quota. Furthermore, BUMNs and government institutions have not given examples of meeting the quota,” said Marthella.

As for the Manpower Law, Marthella highlights the regulation on providing internships opportunities in companies.

“We found out on the field that existing internships, including those provided to persons with disabilities, are only for three to six months and are given simply because of companies’ good faith, so it is completely up to their discretion,” added Marthella.

In addition, Marthella said, in this short period of internships, persons with disabilities tend to have difficulties blending in.

“That is why we create the MagangIn scheme to not only recruit, but also prepare the institution or workplace to make it more inclusive,” she continued.

 

Still Relying on Top-Down Policy

Since internships for disabilities still heavily rely on companies’ good faith, Marthella thinks the government needs to step in.

“So we think it requires a top-down policy, and this is shown by the need of a Joint Decree (SKB) from Four Ministers,” she said.

These four ministries are the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Manpower, and the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education. According to Marthella, the SKB can follow the pattern that has been tested by the Ministry of Industry, which has made a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Social Affairs to build the competencies of persons with disabilities to prepare them to work in the industrial sector.

“But that is for the industry, the types of work are still limited, such as making doormat and so on. The types of disability recruited are also limited. SKB from Four Ministers will expand this scope,” added Marthella.

Why these four Ministers? Marthella explains the role of each ministry:

1. Ministry of Education and Culture, plays a role in equipping skills for persons with disabilities since they were in school, both in Inclusive and Extraordinary Schools (SLB). The Ministry of Education and Culture needs to innovate on its vocational curriculum.
2. Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for the vocational rehabilitation process for people with physical disabilities and the development of various other Social Agencies according to the types of disabilities at the local level.
3. After persons with disabilities go through rehabilitation and are self-reliant to work, the Ministry of Manpower needs to enforce this through its Work Training Agencies (BLK). The Ministry of Manpower monitors workforce absorption in companies.
4. Many persons with disabilities graduated from universities, but are still having a hard time finding jobs. So, the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education needs to be involved.

“These four ministries must convene and formulate the process starting from education, rehabilitation, higher education, to working,” emphasised Marthella.

With this SKB, companies will have a reference and standardisation for internships. In addition, the absorption of workers with disabilities becomes effective and efficient, according to market needs and their competencies as participants in apprenticeships.

The Formula of 2(n)+1 and Jumat-in

Marthella wants to make MagangIn the first step to recruiting disabled workers, not just a freelance internship program.

“The internships quota can be formulated as 2(n)+1, where ‘n’ is the number of persons with disabilities to be recruited,” said Marthella.

This means, if you want to recruit two people with disabilities, then internships opportunities should be given to five of them.

“Two of the best are recruited, the other three receive certificates. Basically, certificates must be given to all internships participants,” continued Marthella.

The objective is that internship participants who have not fulfilled a company’s qualification but have joined the internship program have certificates, should they apply to other companies.

The next step to make MagangIn effective is the need to prepare an inclusive workplace, by conducting Jumat-in, which is a sharing session every Friday.

“It can be any day really, can be Mondays or Tuesdays. The point is there is an opportunity for persons with disabilities who have joined internships to share their experience or discuss other topics on inclusiveness and appropriate accommodations for persons with disabilities,” explained Marthella.

In the sharing session, companies and apprenticeship participants or interns can find a joint solution.

“Sometimes, companies do not know that being inclusive does not necessarily have to be expensive. For example, documents should use Word instead of PDF, so that blind people can use certain applications to read them,” said Marthella, giving an example.

Another thing that must be included in the inclusive internship process is a mentor or supervisor. A mentor can be the spokesperson for interns to the company, including presenting their concerns in the sharing session. A mentor or supervisor also has a duty to evaluate the internship process, which will serve as an input for the company on what needs to be improved to hire persons with disabilities.

Marthella presented her paper in the Ideas and Innovation Marketplace Co-Creating and Collaboration session on July 22, 2019. Marthella’s research highlights the approach to improve the awareness of employers in creating an inclusive working environment and equal employment opportunity. The emphasis on inclusive job opportunity is highlighted in Sub-theme 3: Creating Inclusive Employment Opportunities of the main theme of IDF 2019, “Mission Possible: Seizing the Opportunities of Future Work to Drive Inclusive Growth.”