The ITF leads ‘training of the trainer’ for teachers from all of Indonesia’s civil aviation institutions – expanding successful programme from maritime and rail sectors.
Civil aviation institutions across Indonesia will start rolling out new training sessions on stress management and mental health wellbeing after attending ‘training of the trainer’ sessions this month in Jakarta.
The training sessions, which were attended by 35 trainers from across all of Indonesia’s civil aviation institutions, were carried out in partnership with the Centre for Human Resources Development on Civil Aviation (CHRDCA), a specialised agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, and in coordination with International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) civil aviation affiliates in Indonesia, SEKARGA and IKAGI. It comes after the ITF signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation in January this year.
“This training really is both vital and all-too-rare for civil aviation workers, who often find themselves at the sharp end of having to deal with stress, fatigue and other negative impacts on their wellbeing,” said Scott McDine, ITF Regional Secretary for the Asia-Pacific.
“At the ITF, we’re delighted to be playing a leading role in ensuring that mental health and stress management is prioritised in training for transport workers across different sectors – and we’re very proud to be leading the way in civil aviation now, in partnership with Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation. This training is vital for the country’s civil aviation workers.”
The training sessions focused on empowering lecturers and instructors to become ‘strategic mentors’ in stress management: identifying the early warning signals of psychological stress, the practical skills and supportive culture needed to tackle it, and, crucially, being able to implement knowledge and skills with their students – Indonesia’s future civil aviation workers.
Research conducted in 2025 by the ITF National Coordinating Committee in Indonesia – chaired by I Dewa Nyoman Budiasa of ITF affiliate, Kesatuan Pelaut Indonesia (KPI) – shows that mental health strain is higher in civil aviation than in any other transport sector.
For women in particular, civil aviation stands out for higher overwork-related stress, fatigue, maternity-related stress and sexual harassment. Consequently, sleep disturbance, self-harm, thoughts about taking one’s own life and limited psychological support are core patterns among women civil aviation workers in Indonesia.
The ITF research also involved asking civil aviation workers what support they needed most when it comes to mental health and wellbeing. More than 90 percent said stress management skills and training, followed by psychological support (90 percent), policy change (82 percent), better sanitation facilities (77 percent), and the ability to join a union (74 percent).
“It’s clear from the ITF’s research that this training is meeting a real need that’s been identified among civil aviation workers in Indonesia,” said Dr Asif Altaf, the ITF’s Wellbeing Programme Coordinator.
“Our hope is that this training will help to bring a positive change in mindsets about mental health, and from that, that many more transport workers remember that as well as helping others, they also need to help themselves.”
The training builds on the ITF’s expanding wellbeing training taking place across transport sectors – all geared to ensuring the world’s transport workers are better protected from stress and psychological strain, and able to better safeguard their mental wellbeing.
At the end of 2024, the ITF led training for trainers from across seven countries located on or near the Black Sea.
In August last year, a first cohort of maritime teachers attended training sessions in Manila, after the ITF and the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) – a government agency of the Philippines – incorporated a new module into the curricula of Philippine maritime academies and training institutions: ‘Mental Health and Stress: Understanding Early Management and Coping’.
Then on World Mental Health (October 10) last year, the ITF joined affiliates including the National Union of Seafarers India (NUSI), the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR), the Madras Port Trust Employees Union (MPTEU), the Italian Transport Federation (FITCISL), the Norwegian Seafarers’ Union (NSU) and German trade union, Ver.Di – with support also coming from the Indian Government’s Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) – to run training sessions in Mumbai, India, for seafarers, dockers, railway and warehouse workers.
“We’re delighted that civil aviation workers will now be able to benefit from the ITF’s established expertise in helping transport workers and education facilities learn how to better protect workers’ mental health and ensure that they can tackle the stresses and strains of their jobs,” said Bilal Malkawi, ITF Director of Civil Aviation.
“Everyone, everywhere in the world depends on transport workers – they really do keep our world moving forward. But we must always remember that the jobs they perform are also incredibly challenging and demanding, and never more so than in civil aviation.”
