TANJUNGPINANG - BP3MI Kepulauan Riau head Imam Riyadi said 2,500 Indonesian migrant workers were placed overseas through legal channels in the first half of 2026.
Imam gave the figure to ANTARA on July 26. Workers took jobs including nursing, gardening, truck driving, ship crews, tourism and welding, according to the first-half placement report.
Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the Solomon Islands and the Maldives were among the destinations he named.
“The opportunities for Riau Islands residents to work abroad are very large,” Imam said, pointing particularly to demand for welders, health workers and ship crews.
BP3MI has been working with local authorities, vocational schools and universities to prepare prospective workers for overseas jobs and direct them toward official placement procedures.
The agency is also expanding training for workers seeking jobs abroad. An official BP3MI Kepri vocational programme update said a survey identified 2,089 prospective migrant workers for capacity-building programmes.
BP3MI secured places for 100 people to receive specialised training and certification. Welding, hospitality and maritime work were separately identified as strong overseas-employment sectors for the province.
The placements come as authorities continue to stop prospective workers from leaving through nonprocedural channels.
BP3MI Kepri recorded 689 people prevented from making such departures between January and June, according to its first-half prevention figures. Police accounted for 431 interventions, while BP3MI help desks at international ports stopped 222 prospective workers.
Batam Centre accounted for 192 of the help-desk interventions. Similar services operate at Harbour Bay in Batam, Sri Bintan Pura in Tanjungpinang and Tanjung Balai Karimun.
Officers monitor departures, check workers’ identities against travel documents and provide information on official overseas employment procedures.
BP3MI has urged prospective workers to verify employment contracts and work visas and use official placement channels.
Imam said in a June placement update that workers who bypass those procedures may not receive optimal state protection before departure, while working overseas or after returning to Indonesia.
