Manpower Minister Yassierli has stressed that the National Internship\nProgramme will not replace permanent employees or lead to redundancies.\nHe said companies cannot be certain they will continue to receive\nallocations of internship places.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people have told me that the national internship scheme\nreplaces regular workers. That does not seem possible, because companies\nhave no certainty that they will always receive internship places,\u201d\nYassierli told reporters at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic\nAffairs on Wednesday (21 October 2026).<\/p>\n
The programme is also limited to six months. \u201cAfter the six-month\ninternship, who would continue doing that person\u2019s work at the company?\u201d\nYassierli said.<\/p>\n
He said the government would continue to monitor companies to ensure\ninterns were not used as replacements for regular employees. \u201cWe will\nkeep a close eye on companies: if people are interns, they should be\ninterning, not working. The purpose of an internship, once again, is to\nimprove their skills,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Previously, economists at the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE)\nIndonesia warned that the National Internship Programme, also known as\nMagangHub, could encourage companies to substitute regular recruitment\nwith the use of cheap labour.<\/p>\n
CORE\u2019s Monthly Review said that because the government fully funds\ninterns\u2019 stipends and the programme is ongoing, companies could come to\nrely on them continuously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stipend, fully covered by the government, also makes MagangHub a\nlow-cost recruitment channel, creating a risk that regular workers will\nbe replaced or participants will be used as cheap administrative staff,\u201d\nCORE Indonesia said in its latest report on Thursday (8 October\n2026).<\/p>\n
CORE\u2019s economists nevertheless acknowledged that the National\nInternship Programme, delivered through the MagangHub platform, could\nhelp speed the transition from education to employment by providing six\nmonths of work experience to D3 and S1 graduates who completed their\nstudies no more than a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Participants receive a stipend equivalent to the minimum wage, fully\nfunded by the government, as well as work-accident and death insurance\nand a certificate of competence.<\/p>\n
In 2026, the government allocated Rp4.2 trillion for the programme\u2019s\nsecond intake, with 150,000 places, up from 100,000 in its first intake\nin 2025.<\/p>\n
Although workplace training could help participants overcome\nemployers\u2019 experience requirements, the programme\u2019s 150,000 places\nrepresent only about 2.1% of the 7.22 million unemployed people recorded\nin May 2026. Its requirement for D3 or S1 qualifications also means it\ndoes not reach senior high school and vocational school graduates, who\naccount for more than half of the country\u2019s unemployed (50.39%).<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/manpower-minister-issues-stern-warning-says-national-internship-scheme-must-not-be-used-to-replace-workers-1792576249", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }