PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The West Java Provincial Government is providing access for underprivileged students to attend top schools whose graduates are absorbed by industry. This access can improve students' quality of life, thereby creating a new middle class in West Java.

This was conveyed by KDM, Dedi Mulyadi's nickname, after attending the West Java Industrial Forum with the theme Industry within the Framework of Inclusive, Competitive, and Sustainable Industrial Development at Bale Gede Pakuan, Bandung, Thursday (23/4/2026).

Access to underprivileged students is provided in the form of scholarships to 100 students. KDM plans to increase the number of scholarship recipients to 800.

By providing access to top schools, students have a greater opportunity to be absorbed into industry. Furthermore, their careers can progress to managerial level.

"The goal is to create a new middle class in West Java from leading industrial schools. Until now, it's rare for lower-middle-class people to have access to these schools," said KDM.

Meanwhile, the West Java branch of the Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) appreciated the steps taken by West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi to continuously improve Human Resources (HR) in West Java through education.

The Head of the West Java APINDO DPP, Ning Wahyu Astutik, said that improving human resources is very much needed in the industrial sector so that the business world can survive in West Java.

"He (KDM) is focused on developing qualified human resources by establishing free schools for academically able children. These will then be developed into a talent pool to support entrepreneurs in need of workers," he explained.

The entrepreneurs are also very grateful to KDM and support whatever is done for the advancement of entrepreneurs.

The West Java Industrial Forum is held as a strategic forum for communication, collaboration, and consultation between business actors, the government, and related parties to increase industrial competitiveness in West Java and encourage investment.

The event also aims to formulate a joint agreement to resolve various industrial sector development issues, ranging from ease of doing business and investment, improving workforce quality, strengthening local supply chains, industrial downstreaming, to the implementation of green and sustainable industries.