Labuan Bajo (March 29, 2023) — As part of the celebrations for its Lustrum and 5th Anniversary, eLBajo Commodus Polytechnic (PLC) held a workshop titled “Building West Manggarai from the Village Level,” with the theme “Enhancing the Human Resource Potential of Villages in West Manggarai.”
This workshop, which brought together village heads and subdistrict heads from across West Manggarai, aimed to enhance the capacity of human resources in West Manggarai’s villages through participatory collaboration among village communities, local governments, educational institutions, and the business and industrial sectors (DUDI).
In his remarks, PLC Director Prof. I Nengah Dasi Astawa stated that “One of the factors supporting the improvement of human resource quality is the active participation of the village community. Improving the quality of village human resources must be a priority for every village head so that their communities can adapt to global challenges such as the growth of tourism in Labuan Bajo, which is focused on international tourists.”
Aloisisus Lahi, Assistant III to the West Manggarai Regional Secretariat, who delivered opening remarks on behalf of Regent Edistasius Endi, expressed his support for this workshop: “The concept of developing West Manggarai from the village level aligns with the West Manggarai Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJM). If human resources are not managed properly, they will lead to a number of problems, one of which is high unemployment and poverty.” Aloisisus continued, “Efforts to improve human resources contribute to the economic well-being of families and villages, and ultimately benefit the regency. Being a village head means being willing to serve the village’s development, especially given the high unemployment rate, which may be caused by college majors that do not align with the job market.”
Ferdinandus Pelon, Head of the Pacar Subdistrict, also praised the workshop, stating that “this theme is exceptional because it addresses the current situation in West Manggarai. The development of tourism villages in West Manggarai has not yet reached its full potential, due to limited human resources that have not received sufficient guidance.”
Human resource development is one of the most important factors in improving the quality of work, which in turn improves the quality of life for the community. As the only institution of higher education in West Manggarai, the eLBajo Commodus Polytechnic (PLC) serves as an educational institution for the surrounding villages, responsible for developing high-caliber and competitive human resources. PLC can help build the character of future village leaders who have the ability to mobilize their communities to face various current challenges.
Knowledge regarding human resource development based on community empowerment is essential, particularly for stakeholders in villages. For this reason, eLBajo Commodus Polytechnic organized a workshop on human resource development based on village empowerment, inviting village heads from West Manggarai to participate, thereby facilitating the exchange of knowledge that will help these village heads develop their villages’ potential independently.
The workshop titled “Building West Manggarai from the Village Level” produced a summary mapping the villages’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges, as well as a follow-up action plan. The follow-up action plan includes recommendations for establishing academic programs tailored to the needs of the West Manggarai community, collaboration between the PLC and village governments throughout West Manggarai to manage village potential, and recommendations for learning and coursework at the PLC. The workshop proceeded smoothly and was attended by 21 village heads, 3 subdistrict heads, 7 high schools and vocational schools, 4 local government agencies, and 3 industry representatives.
