Strategy of Improving Tourism Human Resources Based on MICE Competency in Banten Province, Indonesia

—The prospect of MICE industry in Banten Province is currently increasing rapidly, along with economic growth, advancing infrastructure and technology, business development and emergence of the largest exhibition venue in Southeast Asia "Indonesia Convention Exhibition" (ICE) that enables investors and event organizers to hold exhibitions or meeting. However, MICE industry players still experience difficulties in finding competent employees in MICE field. Therefore, this study aims to identify the competencies of human resources needed by MICE industry and factors that trigger obstacles and causes of lack of competent human resources, so that MICE industry players can get qualified and skilled workforce. This research method uses the literature study with descriptive and explorative approaches and observations of the author. It can be concluded that short of human resources for MICE is due to small number of state and private universities in Banten that provide MICE majors, low socialization and participation of Banten Provincial Government in promoting MICE to secondary schools so that students' interest in learning MICE is low. This dilemma can be overcome if Regional Government plays an active role and cooperates with educational institutions or universities to facilitate MICE majors, intensify trainings and certify employees based on competency standards.


I. INTRODUCTION
Meeting, Incentive, Convention, and Exhibition (MICE) industries for several years have developed rapidly in the world because of the rapid level of economic and technological growth that requires people to hold exhibitions and meetings increasingly. MICE activities with delegation visits are expected to contribute a significant economic impact for the local region by providing additional employement opportunities and commerce such as accommodation, transportation, communication & professional businesses, exhibition, travel, entertainment, location procurement etc. MICE industry which is full of challenges and competition in the global era, it must be managed and handled effectively and efficiently by competent and professional people from managerial to executive level.
Competent and professional workers in the MICE sector can be obtained through competency-based human resource development systems [1]. There are 3 (three) components in this system, namely the existence of values of work competency standards, competency-based education and training and work competency certification systems. MICE field requires a system of HR development that has competency standards. Competency standards in the MICE industry are specifically designed based on the demands of labor market needs, which will be used as a reference for training and educating employees who have skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed by MICE industry.
Knowledge, skills and work attitudes are expected to meet the needs and very rapid changes in technology, ways of working, demands of customer tastes, social, economic and cultural environments both nationally and internationally. With the standard of competition, it is one of the references so that educational / training institutions able to create a workforce that is in accordance with the needs of industry, and professional certification institutions can carry out the certification process through appropriate competency test. Indonesian National Work Competency Standards (SKKNI), is a formulation of work capabilities that includes aspects of knowledge, skills and / or expertise and attitudes that are relevant to the implementation of tasks and positions in line with the prevailing provisions. The units in this competency standard can be used as a tool to assist management and operations, namely: • Development of Job Descriptions based on competency.
• Development of Standard Operating Procedures.

• Development of Occupational Health and Safety
Standards.
• Process of Assessment (testing, knowledge, skills and attitudes).
These competency standards are prepared through a process of drafting, consulting and discussing with experts such as from INCCA (Indonesian Congress and Convention Association), related stakeholders and input from experienced experts. The competency standard drafting team has the task of identifying and analyzing the actual knowledge, skills and attitudes needed in the MICE industry sector, followed by a process of pre-conventions and conventions to be agreed to become national standards. In the implementation of MICE competency certification, institutions that have the authority to carry out labor certification are Professional Certification Institutions (LSP) appointed based on applicable provisions through competency tests.
Human resources are very important in the tourism industry. The facilities and infrastructure built will not last long if they are not managed by unqualified and incompetent human resources. In modern countries, the success of technology grows and develops rapidly because it is supported by highly capable human resources, sustainable, equitable and consistent development of education systems. At this time, HR who have qualified MICE skills are needed by MICE industry in managing an event or expo both nationally and internationally.
To improve the competitiveness of MICE destinations in Indonesia, Minister of Tourism issued regulation no. 5 of 2017 concerning Destination Guidelines for Organizing Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions. There are 4 factors that guide the criteria, namely: Accessibility, Attractions (Attractiveness), Amity, Human Resources and stakeholder support. The indicator of criteria for human resources is the availability and professionalism of human resources in MICE field.
The development of tourism human resources is one of the most challenging homeworks. Moreover, the government sets a target of 20 million foreign tourist visits in 2019. Therefore, the issue of expert labor needs in the tourism sector, especially in MICE sector, requires the role of business players. So far, tourism program graduates who have been certified are more likely to work abroad. This is supported by the Government, so that the competence of Indonesian human resources in the tourism sector is not underestimated by other countries.
At present the development of human resources in Indonesia is quite good but must be improved. The steps taken by Government to improve the quality of human resources are by implementing a global standard curriculum for all Tourism State Universities (PTN) throughout Indonesia. To improve the quality of graduates of tourism especially in the MICE field, Ministry of Tourism must have a global standard curriculum both in terms of graduates, lecturers and institutions. Tourism universities must be certified by global and prestigious institutions and be able to play a role as a center of excellence for their respective fields of specialization. At present, the government is still facing cost constraints to improve the competence of workers in tourism segment, especially in the MICE sector because of the high costs of increasing competency and certification.
Chairperson of Association of Indonesian Tourism Travel Companies (Asita) said that human resources in the tourism sector are one of the determinants of success in achieving tourism from 3 (three) important elements, namely procurement, destination addition, human resources and promotion. Until now, the government has not made a workforce planning program for the MICE field which is needed as a guideline to improve the certification of human resource capabilities. Meanwhile, Minister of Manpower said that in order to improve the quality of human resources in the tourism sector, labor department has invited instructors from the business sectors to train at Vocational Training Center (BLK). By inviting trainers and instructors from the practitioners sector, it is expected that graduates from BLK can be absorbed in MICE industry.
Therefore, HR competencies in the MICE field must be able to absorb the aspirations and needs in the field. Mangkunegara states that competence is a basic factor possessed by someone who has more ability, which makes it different from someone who has average or ordinary abilities [2]. Competence is an ability to carry out or do a job or task based on skills and knowledge and supported by attitude demanded by the job [3]. Thus, competency shows skills or knowledge characterized by professionalism in a particular field as the most important, as the superior of the field. Competence is a basic characteristic that can be associated with increased performance from individuals or teams [4].
From the above-mentioned definitions, it can be concluded that competency is a skill, ability, and knowledge that someone has directly influences their performance in doing a job. Therefore, competent human resources will guarantee the success of the company in achieving the targets set. This is the reason why companies use competency criteria as a basis for developing their employees.
Indonesia is now ranked 45th out of 63 countries for HR competitiveness based on research conducted by the Institute Management Developments in Switzerland. Quoted from Business World dated November 22, 2018. Indonesian HR competitiveness jumps 2 ranks compared to 2017 which was ranked 47th. In 2018, Indonesia received a score of 51.34. When compared with neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesia's human resource competitiveness is still below. This research states, Malaysia this year ranked 22nd, up 6 ranks from rank 28. While Singapore remained ranked 13th. While the Philippines dropped 10th rank to 55th from previously ranked 45th. Assessment aspects conducted based on 3 factors. First is the investment factor and the development of measuring resources used to grow human resources themselves. Second, the attractiveness factor is to assess how good a country can attract foreign and local workers. While the third, a readiness factor, where the quality of skills and labor competitiveness in a country are taken into account.
Indonesia with a population of more than 250 million people is still under Asean country in the level of its HR quality. According to World Bank (World Bank) dated on October 11, 2018 that Indonesian Human Capital Index (HCI) is 0.53 or 87th in rank from 157 countries. The highest HCI was Singapore, with HCI values of 0.88 followed by Japan and South Korea with HCIs of 0.84. Meanwhile, four other ASEAN countries, namely Malaysia 0.62; Philippines 0.55; Thailand 0.60; and Vietnam 0.67. President Joko Widodo again stressed the importance of building human resources as an investment for the country to face the future. This commitment was applied through the distribution of Smart Indonesia Cards, which in 2017 reached more than 20 million students, and expanded the distribution of the Bidik Misi scholarship program for students.
In the past four years, Government has focused on strengthening vocational education and training to create and prepare skilled human resources. In addition, Government will continue to encourage higher education to make a breakthrough so that college graduates can be more adaptive in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0, including capabilities in digital literacy, and be able to grow more creative and innovative young entrepreneurs. In addition to equitable access and quality of education, the Government also builds healthy Indonesian people through Healthy Life program. From the above data shows that MICE tourism only contributes 25% of Indonesian tourism products. This indicates that the potential of MICE tourism compared to other types of tourism in Indonesia is still low and has not been managed properly. According to the report of International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in 2018, Indonesia is ranked 36th in the world with 122 event activities, ranks 11th for Asia Pacific Region, and ranks 4th in ASEAN. The contribution of the MICE industry is projected to reach 2.5 billion dollars US. The government has set a target of 2 million MICE tourists in 2019. The Minister of Tourism will apply the concept of Indonesia Incorporated in handling the potential for MICE tourism in Indonesia because the MICE industry has a great potential to bring tourists into the country, especially for conference events. The potential of the MICE industry in Indonesia is very high, but the percentage of MICE foreign tourists is only 3% of the total number of foreign tourists coming to Indonesia.
In the next five years, MICE is projected to be potential as one of the biggest value-generating factors for Indonesia's tourism sector. This certainly will make employees who work in the MICE sector will get more income. But this step cannot be followed by the availability of a MICE competency-based workforce. This will be an obstacle for MICE industry players in finding competent and reliable personnel.
The government allocates an education budget of 20 percent in the 2019 state budget (APBN) of the total APBN amounting to Rp 492.5 trillion rupiah. This is to improve the quality of Indonesia's human resources to be more competitive with the hope that the Indonesian Human Education Index will increase. This education budget is used to improve the quality of teaching staff (teachers and lecturers), increase the effectiveness of School Operational Assistance (BOS) funds, improving school access program, program for Smart Indonesia to 20.1 million students, higher education and religious scholarships to 471,000 to students, construction of educational facilities and infrastructure, improvement of teacher professional allowances, provision of operational assistance for early childhood education (PAUD), strengthening LPDP which will provide 27 thousand scholarships in 2019, and improving the quality and quantity of vocational education.
In the field of tourism, especially MICE, the availability of human resources in Banten Province is still low. This happened because of the small number of student graduates in MICE field due to the deficiency of MICE majors at university. At present, MICE materials at the university are only given as additional subject or supplement in the tourism department. Therefore, to meet the needs of the MICE workforce, Banten provincial government needs to expand and open MICE majors at several universities, provide socialization to secondary schools regarding MICE program and provide trainings and MICE certification to workers or prospective workers organized by certification institution in each district or region. Quality improvement of human resources in MICE is applied by establishing maximum cooperation between educational institutions and business actors. Educational institutions can further improve a field work practice program (PKL) and field orientation so that graduates will be more qualified and in accordance with the market demands. MICE is a form of activity included in the tourism industry. At this time, MICE industry is a promising business for employees to build a career and bring revenue, but there are a lot of people who are not interested in the MICE field compared to other types of tourism business. MICE is defined as one form tourism activities where the activity is a form of leisure and business combination so that it involves one or a group of people doing activities together so that in the form of a series of activities which include Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions, Conference, Congress and Exhibition [5].
The increasing of rapid development in the tourism industry, especially MICE, should also be balanced with the development of human resources which will be the drivers of all activities and the most important factor for the success of an event. The performance of human resources is the main factor that needs to be paid attention to achieve the success of an event, because they directly interact with guests. The good or bad impression and service received by tourists is determined by the quality of its human resources. To achieve great MICE tourism, not only improving facilities and facilities but the quality of human resources must be focused. It is in line with Wacharaporn's research [6]. He finds that core competencies for human resources in MICE are knowledge, skills and characteristics. Improvement of MICE human resources can be implemented through training and certification programs carried out by certification institutions.
The development and improvement of skilled and qualified human resources will determine the success of the progress of MICE industry. It is also stated by Sandy Sou, that The addition of specific MICE training and professional courses can also provide greater appeal in recruiting quality applicants [7]. The development of MICE industry will only succeed with the integration of an appropriate human resources program.
Chou and Lien, also states that personnel in MICE industry must have basic knowledge of MICE to provide the right and relevant services that are in accordance with customer demand [8]. In addition, when these personnel have acquired various knowledge and expertise in their services, they will undoubtedly create a higher level of satisfaction from their customers. MICE facilities will be managed properly if supported by great and qualified human resources. However, the growth of human resource capacity in MICE industry is still low due to the shortage of graduates of human resources in skilled and professional MICE.
MICE human resources must have ideas, professionalism, competence, innovation and high performance. It is certainly not easy to obtain professional staff who have expertise and skills in MICE. There are 2 dimensions used as performance measurement, namely [9]:  The level of work ability (competence) in executing the tasks both obtained from the results of education and training as well as those derived from work experience.
 The level of executive ability in providing work motivation, so that workers as individuals work with maximum effort, which enables the achievement of results in accordance with the wishes and needs of the community.
Competence is a basic characteristic that can be associated with improving individual or team performance [10]. Competency grouping consists of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Performance is the appearance of one's work in the form of quality or quantity in an organization. Performance can be the appearance of individuals and work groups of employees. Three important things in performance are goals, dimension, and assessment.
Determining the goals of each organizational unit is a strategy to improve performance. This objective will provide a direction and influence how the organization's expected work behavior of each personnel should be. However, the goal alone is not enough, because it requires a measure of whether a person has achieved the expected performance. Because of that quantitative and qualitative assessments of performance standards for each task and position play an important role. The ultimate goal of the performance process is the assessment of the performance itself.

III. METHOD
This research is a theoretical study using a literary approach related to MICE industry and journals related to the development of human resources in the tourism sector and based on the observations and experiences of the author for more than 18 years as practitioners in the field of tourism at five-star international hotels and MICE industry. In addition, the author also obtained information from references and articles related to the development of the tourism industry in Indonesia and Banten Province and data as a comparison as well as supporting the phenomenon in the field. The research explores three things that according to author deserves to be explored more deeply, among others; deficiency of programs or majors for MICE at colleges or universities, the low number of MICE certified workers in Banten Province, the role and steps of local governments in improving HR competencies to meet the needs of MICE players.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Employment Data in Banten Province. The economic structure of Java Province in 2018 was still dominated by DKI Jakarta Province which contributes to Java's Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of 29.66 percent, followed by East Java Province at 24.98 percent, West Java Province amounting to 22.39 percent. While, Banten Province contributed 7.02 Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 120 percent [11]. Workforce readiness for tourism that has MICE certification in Banten Province is still short to face the target of 20 million tourist visits in 2019.

A. The Government's Role for Tourism Growth
Tourism has recently become a new mainstay in the national economy. A number of businesses are moving up with the stretch of tourism, ranging from MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition), transportation, hospitality, retail, culinary, to souvenirs. According to the Ministry of Tourism, MICE industry will be a new target in increasing revenues from the tourism business. This is because money circulation from MICE is seven times greater than other tourism businesses that only rely on shopping from tourists. As a proof of sincerity, Government allocated IDR 10 billion to support MICE development program.
In Minister of Tourism Regulation Number 5 of 2017 concerning Destination Guidelines for Meeting, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions, it is stated that MICE is a business tour that is different from leisure tourism. MICE prioritizes "quality tourist" because tourists will stay longer, and have a daily expenditure of 7 (seven) times more than ordinary tourists (leisure). The 2018 Central Bureau of Statistics, recorded 5,456,542 total tourist arrivals from Southeast Asia to Indonesia. This has increased from the previous year with only 4,524,646 visits. The highest number of Southeast Asian foreign tourists visiting Indonesia came from Malaysia with 2,501,611 and Singapore with 1,768,598 visits. Outside of Southeast Asia, foreign tourist visits from China occupy the second highest number after Malaysia, which is 2,137,450. While the lowest number of tourists was from Laos with 3,803 visits.
Based on data from International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in 2018, Indonesia still ranks 36th in the world and ranks 11th for the Asia Pacific region that holds MICE meetings. Indonesia only held 122 international meetings last year (2018). Whereas Singapore is ranked 26th by holding 160 international meetings. While China is still the top in Asia by holding 376 international meetings.
To compete with these two countries, it is necessary to work hard at all levels considering the characteristics of the MICE business are different from leisure tourism. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said MICE was among the top five contributors in bringing in foreign tourists. Arief Yahya has also announced that MICE growth will be increased from 6% to 10% in 2019. Apart from its continued growth, MICE Indonesia's competitiveness at the global level must also be increased. The government is optimistic, MICE will be featured product in the future. As a tangible proof and becoming a promotion for MICE Indonesia's industry is the 2018 Asian Games Event in Jakarta and Palembang and IMF-World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Bali. From the data above shows that Indonesia is still lagging behind Europe and other Asian countries in holding exhibitions or meetings. To increase the rank of MICE in ASEAN and Asia Pacific, Indonesia needs reliable personnel in the MICE industry who have the knowledge and skills about MICE to provide appropriate and relevant services according to customer demand.

B. MICE Characteristics
MICE business is one of seven special categories in the Indonesian Tourism Grand Strategy launched by the Ministry of Tourism as a contributor to 30% of the country's revenue in the tourism sector. MICE business has its own characteristics that must be understood in order to provide maximum service and reduce complaints that occur due to differences in handling with regular travel [5]. Kesrul divides into 4 (four) characteristics of MICE, namely number of participants, status of participants, expenses (participants or organizers) and media promotions [5].
The Ministry of Tourism is still simulating the right strategy to achieve the MICE target, which is to provide MICE incentives as a stimulus to business players to increase the implementation of MICE in Indonesia. Entrepreneurs are challenged to hold international events by bringing in as many participants or investors as possible. but until now there have only been 2 (two) of the 7 (seven) destinations that are ready to host MICE, namely Jakarta and Bali, because supporting facilities in other cities have not been able to hold international standard events.

C. Less Competitive
Convention and Exhibition Bureau (INACEB) is still unable to compete with other countries, so it always fails to get MICE business offers. To overcome this in the future, Kemenpar offers two solutions, namely by increasing the ability of INACEB personnel in conducting tenders and presenting local competitors so that competition grows sustainably. If local competition is getting better, then the Regional Convention Bureau will grow with a reliable ability and can compete with other countries during MICE tender.
Minister of National Development Planning (PPN) / Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) sees that MICE industry seems to still work on its own. For example: IMF World Bank event has not been included in National strategy. In fact, IMF World Bank event should be included in National strategy carried out in the next 5 years. Therefore, strategy is an important factor in promoting MICE, especially what types of events will be held in Indonesia. According to Deputy Chief of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI), MICE industry has boosted the growth of hotel visits by around 6% in 2018 because Government has made MICE as one of the backbones in tourism to drive hotel growth.
Deputy Chief of Indonesian Travel Companies Association (Asita) said that MICE potential is only focused on the Island of Gods (Bali). Government and INACEB should maximize other areas as potential for MICE industry. One indicator assessed from a location to be able to host MICE is the capacity of room, facilities and infrastructure owned. Banten Province itself already has the largest Indonesian Convention Exhibition "ICE" in Southeast Asia with an area of 22 hectares which is able to accommodate large numbers of visitors. Ease of access to the location and guarantee of safety are the factors taken into consideration in holding an event / exhibition.
To maximize a high potential of MICE, Ministry of Tourism, tourism department and other relevant parties must work together to hold exhibitions or expos, such as international scale music concerts that can accommodate tens of thousands of spectators, such as those held at ICE, South Tangerang.
MICE's tourism potential will increase sharply due to the support of easy access, improvement in the quality of tourism objects, the availability of infrastructure and facilities to support the tourist destination. For example, the availability of transportation access to facilitate visitor mobility and ease of access to telecommunications networks. The above is important to provide because MICE activities do not stand alone but are synergistic with the tourism industry. Another thing that is also important is the readiness of the community to support the success of their region as a tourism destination to support MICE. For example, changing the behavior of people who like to dispose of litter in order not to disturb tourists' comfort. This can be done if the local government issues a regulation accompanied by preparing adequate waste disposal facilities in every place.
Increasing certification for workers in the tourism sector requires the role of business players. The number of workers in the tourism sector is still small compared to the ratio of population. Indonesia ranks 5th compared to other Asean countries in the number of workers in the tourism sector. This needs the role of business sectors. According to Minister of Tourism, in the year of 2018 -400,000 workers in the tourism sector have been certified. For 2019, the target of workforce to be certified is 500,000. The number of certified workers is only 4.2% of the total workforce in tourism sector with 12.6 million people. This number of workers is still not able to meet the needs in the tourism sector. In 2019, Government is targeting an additional 400,000 workers in tourism sector so that by the end of year, the number of workers will be 13 million.
Until now, labor department in Benten Province has no exact data on the number of workers in tourism sector and the number of workers certified in MICE. This is the reason why many vocational high school (SMK) graduates are unemployed. There are many tourism schools but there is no exact data on the number of workers in the tourism sector whether in hotels, travel agents, restaurants or MICE industry. The quality of human resources in Banten Province, which is considered a pioneer in MICE sector, is still inadequate due to the lack of a MICE-based workforce. Data on labor related to the tourism sector that has been certified in the MICE field is very small.

D. Labor Certification in MICE
Why MICE certification is needed because it will give competitive value and gain competency recognition, both in National and International levels. Based on the data of National Accreditation Committee dated on 29 January 2019, there are 37 Tourism Certification institutions, but there is only 1 (one) certification institution that specializes in the field of MICE accreditation located in Jakarta. This is an obstacle that must be immediately addressed by Government and the Government of Banten Province in providing competent human resources.
Based on LSP MICE data in 2018, MICE certifications have been issued to improve the quality of human resources from 2012 to 2018 with the total of 3060 people for 7 areas of expertise in the field of MICE namely: Event Registration, Building Stand Events, Event Marketing Communication, Event Venue Management, Event Liaison Officer, and Event Destination Building. Of the 3060 who have received certification, only 1286 people whose certification are still valid until 2019, 1774 people have certifications that were expired. The validity period of certification for all fields is only for 3 years, then each person must reapply for recertification.

A. Conclusion
After reviewing and exploring the latest data sources, the author can state that the supplier of human resources, especially in the MICE industry, is currently only supplied by universities, this happens because at present, there are only 3 out of 67 universities or academies in Banten Province that open MICE majors, while other universities only provide hospitality management majors. MICE courses in the hospitality department are only taught as additional lessons, so students' knowledge of MICE is only on the surface.
In addition, the absence of a certification body in the field of MICE in Banten province is the reason for the difficulty in finding prospective workers who are competent and in the MICE field. With the lack of MICE majors in universities in Banten Province, the impact on MICE industry players in recruiting potential employees who already have MICE knowledge and skills.

B. Suggestion
Synergy between the Banten Provincial Government and MICE industry players is expected to not only accommodate workers, but also improve human resource competencies. A very important thing to immediately be followed up by the Banten Provincial Government is how to improve the competency of human resources in the field of MICE in order to meet the expectations and demands of MICE players, by accelerating the MICE competency certification program by activating the Job Training Center (BLK) managed by Banten provincial labor department.
Adding MICE majors at several universities so that the shortage of MICE graduates can be immediately addressed and can meet job needs. In addition, the local government needs to build cooperation with MICE industry players in terms of ongoing training programs for tourism vocational high school students in carrying out intership programs and lastly is to establish a certification institution especially in the MICE field in creating competent human resources.