College expertise brings skills benefit to Indonesia

City of Glasgow College is one of four UK educational institutions selected to help support and develop maritime skills in Indonesia.

The college successfully bid for funding from the UK Government’s Skills for Prosperity Programme which aims to strengthen Indonesia’s maritime sector - selected as the focus for the project because of the UK’s expertise and reputation in that industry.

The college will deliver global supply chain and logistics to the National Polytechnic in Batam (Polibatam) strategically located close to Singapore, one of the world’s largest trade hubs.  

Roy Gardner, Vice Principal, Corporate Development & Innovation at City of Glasgow College, who attended the official project launch held on Thursday 12 August, said:

“We were the only Scottish college to secure this funding, a reflection of our global reputation for excellence in maritime education and training. We are looking forward to playing our part in what will undoubtedly be an exciting and rewarding project, one which will continue a long-standing and successful relationship with Indonesia and Polibatam.”

The programme, administered by Indonesia’s International Labour Organisation, runs until 2023. It will develop the skills and competencies of the country’s maritime workforce by improving the quality of four maritime polytechnics, transforming their curricula, and the standards and qualifications of vocational education in maritime logistics, seafaring, shipbuilding and the economies of coastal communities.

Mary Kent, Chief Technical Advisor, International Labour Organisation, said:

“The Skills for Prosperity Programme in Indonesia is working to improve the national TVET systems and policies to support the growth of the maritime sector in Indonesia.  We are delighted that City of Glasgow College will be one of our partners in the programme.  Not only does the college have an established global reputation in the maritime and logistics sectors, but also the ability and willingness to share institutional strengths areas such as encouraging a more inclusive learning environment, embedding soft skills or employability skills into teaching and learning practices, and incorporating employer skills needs into curriculum planning.

“As Glasgow looks forward to hosting COP26 this autumn, we hope that this will also present opportunities for Indonesian students to engage with global environmental issues as they relate to the maritime sector.”

Carla Gethin, Director for Business and International Partnerships at City of Glasgow College, added:

"Selected for our expertise through a global procurement process, City of Glasgow College is delighted to be working with the International Labour Organisation and Polibatam to improve the curriculum for the Logistics and International Trade Study Programme. By incorporating international standards and global industry trends into the design of the curriculum, alongside staff capacity building and systematic industry engagement, we can support Polibatam with their ambition to contribute to the supply of a skilled logistics and supply chain workforce, further contributing to the economic development of the province and Indonesia in general."

A total of four recipients were successful in securing funding from the UK Government Skills for Prosperity Programme in Indonesia. The remaining three were the University of Solent for seafaring and engineering in Polimarin, the University of Gloucestershire for International Tourism Management in Polimanado, and the University of Strathclyde for shipbuilding at PPNS in Surabaya.

The Skills for Prosperity Project in Indonesia sets out to improve skills development policies and systems to respond effectively to the skills demands with a focus on the growing maritime sector; taking targeted action in promoting skills for employment and decent jobs for young women and men, including disadvantaged groups.