One of the biggest bones of contention in recruitment is whether education matters during hiring. If it does, how much weight should it have? Granted, not all jobs will require a diploma. In some cases, experience and even trainability are more than sufficient. But it’s a totally different case if you talk about hiring people for Indonesia.
IN INDONESIA, EDUCATION MATTERS – A LOT
Per Ministry of Manpower’s regulations for foreign workers, expatriates who wish to render their services in Indonesia must meet certain qualifications.
One, they should be competent. They can prove this not only through certificates and other related documents but also through their working experience. To be hired, workers, in general, should have at least 5 years of working experience in the position they’re about to fill.
Second, they must possess the educational background related to the position they’re trying to assume.
These are just the basic rules. They may vary according to the industry or the actual job the foreigner is trying to do.
Indonesia imposes these requirements because the country wants to make sure you can accomplish two things: (1) contribute to the growing economy and (2) be worthy of your position considering hiring you means one less job for the locals.
Regardless, based on the second point alone, education weighs heavily for anyone who wishes to work here. But here’s the question: is it necessary for one to own a university degree?
And the answer is, it actually depends. The regulations are not specific enough to answer this question. But whether a potential employee holds a degree or not is not the main concern of an employer. It’s the authenticity of the education.
CRACKING DOWN FAKE DEGREES
In Indonesia, holding fake degrees is not new. In fact, there are penalties waiting for those who own one or help issue them. It can result to an imprisonment up to 5 years or a fine of IDR 500 million (~ $36,821).
However, the problem is prevalent with degrees sold for as much as IDR 50 million (~ $3,681) as of 2015. It’s so ingrained in the country’s culture, and the problem is so severe even lawmakers are not exempt in the crackdown.
But even if you’re not in Indonesia, getting a fake diploma is easy. You can go online and search for companies that can give you one. Specify your course and that’s it! Besides degrees, you can fake your CV and competence certificates.
Can foreign workers get away with this practice? The answer is yes, it can happen. But can it hold for long? The answer is no as the government tries to take counterfeiting more seriously.
Whether you’re an HR or the business owner, the challenge is finding out the truth – and this is where Cekindo can help you.
Let Us Do the Background Checking for You
Cekindo provides local and foreign companies PEO outsourcing services including payroll processing and recruitment and HR establishment. However, we can also perform due diligence for you.
Our team of experts will take the burden of double-checking the credentials of your foreign workers from their working experience to education. Through our investigative tools, access to records, and extensive networking, we can verify data and give you a comprehensive employee profile in 7 working days.
Don’t put your business in jeopardy by hiring unqualified and even illegal foreign workers. Let’s help you today.
