More than 60 Indonesian migrant workers on Sunday attended a free makeup course at the Indonesia Exhibition Center in Taipei.
The Pelatihan Makeup Level 2 course is part of a series of workshops organized by the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to teach migrant workers skills that they can use to start a bsuiness when they return home.
The course was led by one Indonesian-Taiwanese and three Taiwanese instructors who taught attendees makeup skills and techniques for Indonesian weddings and other formal occasions.
Indonesian-Taiwanese instructor Jenny Ho (何雅玲), also known as Jenny JR, said she feels fulfilled when her students apply the skills they learn from her in real life.
“Being able to help them succeed when they return to Indonesia is of course very fulfilling, because they are my fellow citizens,” said Ho, who operates beauty salons in Taipei and Taoyuan.
One of the participants, 32-year-old caretaker Sry Susi Susanti, said she found the course important because she wants to start a bridal makeup business in her hometown after she finishes working in Taiwan.
Susanti works for a private household in New Taipei City, while her husband is employed at a factory in Taichung. The couple have a 12-year-old son living with their relatives in Indonesia.
“My plan for when I return to Indonesia is to open my own makeup business for weddings where I can be together with my husband, as he can be the photographer,” said Susanti, who has been working in Taiwan for eight years.
She said she plans to use her skills for the weddings and celebrations that occur in her home city of Bima in West Nusa Tenggara Province.
Noerman Adhiguna, an analyst at the Indonesian trade office’s labor department, said that the office would continue to hold free lessons to teach migrants crafts, along with culinary, makeup and beauty skills, as well as other skills.
The goal is to teach up to 500 Indonesian migrant workers this year, he added.
As of August, there were 240,509 Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan, of whom 170,023 were women, Ministry of Labor data showed.
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