REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KEDIRI -- Indonesia's Industry Minister, Airlangga Hartarto, has encouraged graduates of the Islamic Boarding Schools (Pesantren) to become entrepreneurs to help the government create more jobs. Not so many of the Pesantren graduates became civil servants, so the Ministry of Industry wanted to encourage them to emerge as entrepreneurs, he said.

This work was noble, because it gave jobs to others, Airlangga added. "In the Ministry of Industry, we have a programme to encourage entrepreneurship, to create strong entrepreneurs and usually the most formidable entrepreneurs are of the Pesantren. They become good businessmen," he said while visiting the Al Falah Ploso Islamic Boarding School in the East Java district of Kediri on Saturday afternoon.

The Industry Ministry was ready to facilitate and provide training to those who came forward, Airlangga said. For example, if someone was interested in the catering business, the ministry would provide training in catering or would help to set up units of producing bottle water.

Airlangga said two weeks ago he had inaugurated a supermarket created by the Pesantren for the needs of students and the community.

He also urged the "santri" or Islamic boarding school students to be always eager to learn, because Indonesia was estimated in 2030 to become the world's seventh most advanced country.

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