After Chennai, Bengaluru sends most job seekers to Indonesia

BENGALURU: A year ago, when Malathi K, 33, told her relatives she was moving to Indonesia, they were surprised. Malathi was packing her bags to join as an international school teacher in Jakarta.
“English is in huge demand across Indonesia. I am working as an English teacher here for a year now. While most of us talk about the lucrative work opportunities in the West, South Asian countries are no less.It has been a great experience for me and I have a plenty of Indian friends working across several sectors in Indonesia,“ Malathi said.
Not surprisingly, Bengaluru comes second in the list of Indian cities in terms of the number of people applying for employment visa to Indonesia, reveals the consulate general of the Republic of Indonesia, headquartered in Mumbai. While at least 60 Bengalureans apply for employment visa to Indonesia every year, Chennai tops the list with 80 applicants, followed by Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune.
During his recent visit to the city, Saut Siringoringo, consul general of the Republic of Indonesia, said: “Till the last few years, Indonesia was known to Indians and Bengalureans only as a tourist destination. Now the scene has changed; we are seeing an increasing number of Indian employment visas being cleared and issued by Indonesia's ministry of labour. While we still receive a large number of Indian tourists, it's great to find that 700 to 800 employment visas are generated for Indians every year.“
Siringoringo said that Indonesians aren't only fond of Indian daily soaps and saris, but also keen to have Indians as teachers there.
“Today, teachers, techies and those interested in the automobile industry and organic farming in India get attracted to Indonesia for jobs and favourable packages,“ he added.