Jobs with minimal Indonesian Language Skills

JAinWA

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H+What jobs are available for expats with minimal Indonesian langaugae skills? Alternatively, if one goes to intensive INdonesian school upon arrivlal, how hard it to acquie jobs
 
H+What jobs are available for expats with minimal Indonesian langaugae skills? Alternatively, if one goes to intensive INdonesian school upon arrivlal, how hard it to acquie jobs
Maybe in the perfume business, because I smell a skunk, or maybe it's a Rat?
 
Not a rat, not in the perfume business. My query is sincere. If you could tell me possibilities upon copleting INdonesian language training, that woul be ereat and mucn appreciated.
 
Language ability is not specifically a requirement, but relevant qualifications is a requirement. What is your education and work experience?

Many jobs in Jakarta or Bali do not practically require Indonesian proficiency, especially in large tech/advertising firms, some departments of oil/gas/mining, and tourism. And of course English teaching is one of the most common expat jobs if you are a native English speaker; it still requires a a certification and experience, but those requirements seem to have some flexibility in practicality.
 
Not a rat, not in the perfume business. My query is sincere. If you could tell me possibilities upon copleting INdonesian language training, that woul be ereat and mucn appreciated.
This obviously is someone baiting for information! By purposefully misspelling your inquiry about Expats working. There are only a few exceptions for foreigners to be allowed to work. It is illegal for foreigners to work in Indonesia!
 
H+What jobs are available for expats with minimal Indonesian langaugae skills? Alternatively, if one goes to intensive INdonesian school upon arrivlal, how hard it to acquie jobs
Only work experienced foreigners can work legally in Indonesia .
Here are the requirements for you to get a job in Indonesia :

Regulation PerMen no.10 Year 2018
Article 5
A foreign worker must :
a. have education diploma (usually university diploma) that is related to the qualifications required for the work position ;
b. have a competency certificate or have work experience of at least 5 years related to the qualifications required for the work position ;
...
e. have Work Visa/Residence Permit issued by the Indonesian Immigration Department .
 
H+What jobs are available for expats with minimal Indonesian langaugae skills? Alternatively, if one goes to intensive INdonesian school upon arrivlal, how hard it to acquie jobs
Coding.
 
Side note: many (most?) Indonesian companies are not exactly known to have an "enlightened" view of mental illnesses.
 
This obviously is someone baiting for information! By purposefully misspelling your inquiry about Expats working. There are only a few exceptions for foreigners to be allowed to work. It is illegal for foreigners to work in Indonesia!
What the hell are you on about? Of course it's legal for foreigners to work in Indonesia with the necessary permits.

Anyway, you are completely paranoid. So please cease your baseless accusations.
 
H+What jobs are available for expats with minimal Indonesian language skills? Alternatively, if one goes to intensive Indonesian school upon arrival,
As others have pointed out, depending on the job, proficiency in Indonesian may not always be required. For instance, reasonable number of Chinese construction workers on projects funded by Chinese government loans, working in Indonesia do not speak Indonesian. Similarly, projects financed through loans from other countries often do not require Indonesian language skills.

Another option is working as a language teacher. If you are a native speaker of a foreign language which is on demand in Indonesia; you possess the necessary qualifications, you can apply and potentially secure a position. However, competition in this field has become intense, and even if you are hired, the pay is typically much lower compared to language teaching jobs in developed countries.

Alternatively, you could seek employment with multinational companies in your home country that have branch offices in Indonesia and you ask for relocation, secondment in Indonesia. Examples include international consultancy and accounting firms like PWC, KPMG, Deloitte, etc or in engineering oil and gas companies such as Siemens, Mitsubishi, Schneider, ABB, BP, Shell, Caterpillar. etc

.... how hard it to acquire jobs
The general requirements for working in Indonesia are similar to those in other countries:
  • You must obtain a work permit to be eligible to work in Indonesia.
  • Securing a work permit typically involves a standard process known as a residential labor market test. This means the company hiring you must demonstrate that your skills are essential and cannot be performed by Indonesians.
For projects funded by foreign government loans, companies can often easily justify that no local workers possess the required expertise for the job.

Indonesia is a highly protectionist nation. Unless you are on relocation, secondment, recruited from overseas, such as for a project financed by a foreign government loan, an exceptional people with exceptional skills needed in Indonesia, recruited by the international headhunters, securing employment in Indonesia can be very hard. However, you could always try.
 
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What the hell are you on about? Of course it's legal for foreigners to work in Indonesia with the necessary permits.

Anyway, you are completely paranoid. So please cease your baseless accusations.
Absolutely agree with this.
I've recently read statistics post COVID listing the number of foreign workers being already almost 170.000 with China (by far), Japan and South Korea being the leading nations providing the largest number of expat workers to Indonesia. In 2024 the number has increased again and most likely in 2025 number will be close to or exceed 200.000.
Talking about "a few exceptions" when numbers are in the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousand is just ridiculous.

Though obviously not being the most important skill to have, being proficient in bahasa Indonesia would definitely give you the edge on a job if in competition with another worker with the required skill for the job but with no language skill.
At least it would be my reasoning if I were to hire a foreign worker, particularly if he is in a position which requires him to manage/supervise Indonesian co-workers who have limited or no English.
 
Absolutely agree with this.
I've recently read statistics post COVID listing the number of foreign workers being already almost 170.000 with China (by far), Japan and South Korea being the leading nations providing the largest number of expat workers to Indonesia. In 2024 the number has increased again and most likely in 2025 number will be close to or exceed 200.000.
Talking about "a few exceptions" when numbers are in the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousand is just ridiculous.

Though obviously not being the most important skill to have, being proficient in bahasa Indonesia would definitely give you the edge on a job if in competition with another worker with the required skill for the job but with no language skill.
At least it would be my reasoning if I were to hire a foreign worker, particularly if he is in a position which requires him to manage/supervise Indonesian co-workers who have limited or no English.
Chinese are 50% or more of these 170.000, followong Koreans and Japanese, others becoming ineligible numbers.
 
Chinese are 50% or more of these 170.000, followong Koreans and Japanese, others becoming ineligible numbers.
Yes, that's the figures I remember and I wouldn't be surprised that the Chinese contingent continues to increase much aster than all the other nations.
 
Yes, that's the figures I remember and I wouldn't be surprised that the Chinese contingent continues to increase much aster than all the other nations.
And the Labor Union members protest that the Chinese are taking their jobs and government counters with they are all legal by Immigration regulations. If the government continues to let Chinese investments go wild then the future will certainly bring in more Chinese workers causing more protest.
 
And the Labor Union members protest that the Chinese are taking their jobs and government counters with they are all legal by Immigration regulations. If the government continues to let Chinese investments go wild then the future will certainly bring in more Chinese workers causing more protest.
This is something I have been saying to my Indonesian friends, for a long time. If the Indonesian government continues to allow foreign nations,(China, Russia, etc,) make investments, and borrow money from them to build infrastructures in Indonesia, then the foreign countries are going to want some control over their investments.
As for Chinese workers. I thought foreign workers were only allowed to work with the proper permits, for jobs that only they could do? To the best of my knowledge, foreigners are not allowed to work otherwise!
So how can labor Unions protest what sounds like legal actions?
 
This is something I have been saying to my Indonesian friends, for a long time. If the Indonesian government continues to allow foreign nations,(China, Russia, etc,) make investments, and borrow money from them to build infrastructures in Indonesia, then the foreign countries are going to want some control over their investments.
As for Chinese workers. I thought foreign workers were only allowed to work with the proper permits, for jobs that only they could do? To the best of my knowledge, foreigners are not allowed to work otherwise!
So how can labor Unions protest what sounds like legal actions?
They protest because they have to work side by side with Chinese laborers who get visas by being listed as managers. I'm not sure of the current regulations but at one time it was you had to have 10 Indonesian workers for every 1 foreign workers. Management was excluded from the numbers.
 
They protest because they have to work side by side with Chinese laborers who get visas by being listed as managers. I'm not sure of the current regulations but at one time it was you had to have 10 Indonesian workers for every 1 foreign workers. Management was excluded from the numbers.
I am not acquainted with jobs that have Chinese and Indonesians working side by side. I thought most foreign workers worked for foreign companies here, where their foreign skills were needed, because the Indonesians did not have these skills.
And if Indonesians are working for these foreign owned companies, it might be true, that the Chinese became managers because they had the qualifications needed for the job, and the Indonesians didn't?
 
I am not acquainted with jobs that have Chinese and Indonesians working side by side. I thought most foreign workers worked for foreign companies here, where their foreign skills were needed, because the Indonesians did not have these skills.
And if Indonesians are working for these foreign owned companies, it might be true, that the Chinese became managers because they had the qualifications needed for the job, and the Indonesians didn't?
No, the majority of the Chinese workers are common laborers, the same as the Indonesians. They are listed as managers for Immigration approval sake only.
 
No, the majority of the Chinese workers are common laborers, the same as the Indonesians. They are listed as managers for Immigration approval sake only.
Interesting, how do you gets this kind of information about common laborers? 🤷🏼‍♂️
 

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