6th Steering Group Meeting Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transition - Resident Coordinator's Speech, Gita Sabharwal

I am delighted to join you at this global dialogue on leveraging national roadmaps to accelerate progress on jobs and social protection.

The Government of Indonesia has formally launched the Jobs and Social Protection Roadmap for a Just Transition in support of its commitment to reduce poverty, inequality and informality. 

It has also integrated the roadmap into national development plans to take prosperity and economic resilience to the next level in line with the President’s vision of an ambitious growth trajectory.

In Indonesia the informal economy is a big contributor to growth and the government is working to fortify social protection and upskill the workforce to future-proof its economy.

It is especially focused on strengthening the social economic registry to enhance targeting and delivery of social protection, especially to those most at risk.

This includes building a modern and adaptive social protection system that is integrated with industry-led skills development through digitization and integration of social assistance delivery.

It prioritizes closing the disability gap by improving access to employment services and expand social protection across lifecycles.

These are strategic steps forward taken by Indonesia, not just for short-term results, but for a long-term, system-level transformation.

Just as importantly, Indonesia will need to scale up investments in innovative financing mechanisms to bridge funding gaps for social protection and skills building to unlock the full potential of the country’s dynamic workforce.

Together with the Ministry of Finance, the UN has supported the issuance of SDG bonds with annual proceeds of $500 million.

This enables the government to scale up financing for human capital development such as investments in vocational training centres with a focus on the blue economy.

In the context of fiscally strained governments, the private sector will need to step up its contributions to help future-proof the workforce.

Industrial parks provide entry points for upskilling and reskilling in line with market-led mechanisms together with government.

The UN is also keen to explore the potential of a skills development fund to scale up quality apprenticeships to equip more people with the skills necessary for the jobs market.

Integrating sustainable financing instruments into national strategies, including SDG bonds, will be critical for long-term sustainability. 

Similarly, key is social dialogue bringing together workers, businesses and policymakers towards inclusive solutions. 

Only when governments, businesses, and workers come together can we build a competitive, inclusive and future-ready economy.

Thank you.