2026 Internship Positions to Open for 150,000 People: When Will It Start?

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Minister of Manpower Yassierli has stated that this year’s National Internship Programme remains in the proposal stage and lacks budget allocation. It is planned to prepare positions for 150,000 people, an increase from last year’s 100,000.

“The National Internship Programme (2026) is not yet in the budget line. So, we must propose it,” Yassierli said when met at the Parliamentary Complex, Jakarta, on Thursday (9/4/2026).

He explained that the proposal for the programme has been submitted by his side but is still in the early stage and must undergo coordination and verification processes with the Ministry of Finance first.

“It has been proposed, but that’s just the initial stage. After that, there will naturally be coordination and verification from the Ministry of Finance. We will follow that,” he stated.

Yassierli said his side has proposed this year’s internship programme with a larger number of participants compared to previous batches, namely around 150,000 people, in line with the extraordinary enthusiasm for the programme.

“(There is) a (budget calculation), but I forget the exact figure. So, we are proposing it. Because of the extraordinary enthusiasm, we are proposing—this is just a proposal—150,000 people,” he said.

Regarding the implementation timeline, he stated that his side cannot yet confirm whether this year’s internship programme can start as initially planned, namely in the first semester of 2026.

“Let’s wait first; we cannot decide. Because there is a process as mentioned. Last year, we started in October (2025). And actually, the third batch of the 2025 National Internship Programme will only finish in May,” Yassierli explained.

Previously, Yassierli had stated that the programme is targeted to run in the first semester of 2026 with around 100,000 participants.

“The national internship programme will reopen in the first semester of 2026, with the target similar to last year, 100,000 participants,” Yassierli said when met after directly inspecting the National Internship Programme at Transmedia, Jakarta, on Friday (20/2/2026).

He hopes the number of participants can continue to increase along with the addition of organising partners, both from the private sector and government agencies.