Updated Framework for Training and Capacity Building of Indonesian Migrant Workers

The framework for capacity building of prospective Indonesian migrant workers and Indonesian migrant workers has been updated through Ministerial Regulation No. 10 of 2026, which amends Ministerial Regulation No. 35 of 2025 on Capacity Building for Prospective Indonesian Migrant Workers and Indonesian Migrant Workers. The framework operates within the broader protection regime under Government Regulation No. 59 of 2021 on the Implementation of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

The 2026 amendment introduces changes in three areas of particular relevance to training providers and other stakeholders: the mechanism for managing training information, the documentation that may demonstrate trainers’ teaching competence, and the structure and content of training curricula.

1. Alternative Mechanism for Training Information Management

Ministerial Regulation No. 35 of 2025 provides for an integrated information system to manage the registration, selection, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of capacity-building programs. The system is also intended to be interconnected with relevant ministries and agencies, regional governments, Indonesian overseas representatives, vocational education and training institutions, and professional certification institutions.

Ministerial Regulation No. 10 of 2026 introduces an alternative mechanism where the integrated information system has not yet been established. In such circumstances, a mechanism determined by the Director General may be used for the implementation of the relevant capacity-building activities.

This provides a practical alternative during the period before the integrated system is available, while maintaining the regulatory framework for information management of migrant worker training.

2. Broader Documentation for Trainers’ Teaching Competence

The 2025 regulation requires teaching personnel to demonstrate both methodological teaching competence and technical competence. The 2026 amendment broadens the documents that may be used to demonstrate methodological teaching competence.

Following the amendment, such competence may be evidenced by a competency certificate, teaching certificate, instructor or tutor training certificate, and/or other documentation demonstrating teaching ability. The requirement for technical competence remains based on a competency certificate and/or at least two years of relevant work experience.

The amendment therefore provides greater flexibility in the documentation that may be used to demonstrate teaching competence, while retaining the requirement that teaching personnel possess both teaching-related and technical competence.

3. More Detailed Curriculum Requirements

The 2026 amendment also provides greater detail on the preparation of curricula and syllabi for migrant worker capacity-building programs.

Curricula and syllabi must refer to applicable Work Competency Standards and consist of core and supporting competencies. Core competencies are directed toward the technical skills required for the relevant job title and/or overseas employment sector, while supporting competencies cover additional skills relevant to self-protection and adaptation to the working environment.

The regulation further requires the curriculum and syllabus to include technical competencies, occupational safety and health, soft skills such as communication and workplace and social culture, foreign language competencies appropriate to the relevant sector and destination, and an understanding of employment and placement agreements and self-protection measures.

These requirements must be adjusted according to the relevant employment sector, job title, destination country or region, and/or employer requirements. Where the specific curriculum and syllabus have not yet been determined by the Director General, the regulation allows curricula and syllabi used by vocational education or training institutions to be used according to the relevant employment sector.

4. Link to Migrant Worker Vocational Training Providers

The updated curriculum requirements should also be considered alongside Ministerial Regulation No. 7 of 2026 on Migrant Worker Vocational Organizers. That regulation provides a framework for the registration and operation of vocational institutions providing training for migrant workers and introduces requirements concerning migrant worker classes.

The migrant worker class framework covers areas including technical competence, soft skills and workplace adaptation, foreign language skills relevant to the destination, employment agreements, and occupational safety and health. Accordingly, vocational institutions providing training to migrant workers should consider the requirements under Ministerial Regulation No. 7 of 2026 together with the curriculum requirements under the amended Ministerial Regulation No. 35 of 2025.

5. Key Implications for Training Providers

Taken together, the 2025 regulation and its 2026 amendment provide a more specific framework for the delivery and administration of migrant worker training. The changes are particularly relevant to training providers in reviewing how training activities are recorded and administered, how trainers demonstrate their qualifications, and whether existing curricula and syllabi cover the competencies required under the amended framework.

Training providers should also consider the registration and operational requirements applicable to migrant worker vocational institutions under Ministerial Regulation No. 7 of 2026, where relevant to their activities.

Conclusion

The 2026 amendment does not establish an entirely separate training regime, but updates several elements of the existing capacity-building framework for Indonesian migrant workers. In particular, it provides an alternative mechanism for managing training information where the integrated system is not yet available, expands the forms of documentation that may demonstrate trainers’ teaching competence, and sets out more detailed requirements for training curricula and syllabi.

Training providers and other relevant stakeholders should review their existing systems, trainer documentation, and training materials against these requirements and the other regulations applicable to migrant worker vocational training.

This alert is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The application of the relevant regulations should be assessed based on the specific activities and status of each training provider.

This alert is part of a series examining regulatory developments affecting Indonesian migrant worker recruitment, placement, training, and protection in Indonesia. Please feel free to contact us should you wish to discuss these developments further.

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