Banten Manpower Office supports vocational education development
Serang (ANTARA) - The Banten Provincial Manpower and Transmigration Office (Disnakertrans) supports the planned development of vocational education programmes at vocational high school (SMK) level, as conveyed by Banten Governor Andra Soni in an effort to reduce the Open Unemployment Rate (TPT).
“We support this programme in accordance with what the Education and Culture Office (Disdikbud) needs,” said Head of the Banten Provincial Manpower and Transmigration Office (Disnakertrans) Septo Kalnadi in his statement in Serang, Banten, Monday.
Septo said that technically the implementation of this programme is organised by the Banten Education and Culture Office (Disdikbud) according to its authority. However, Banten Disnakertrans is ready to support the pilot programme in accordance with the duties and functions of Disnakertrans in the programme.
“Currently there has been no request for support for this programme,” said Septo Kalnadi.
The Banten Provincial Government is collaborating with industry to develop vocational education programmes at vocational high school (SMK) level as an effort to produce job-ready human resources and reduce the open unemployment rate (TPT).
Banten Governor Andra Soni said that vocational education directly integrated with the needs of the world of work is one of the strategic steps to produce excellent human resources.
As a concrete step, the Banten Provincial Government is collaborating with the SMK Mitra Industri MM2100 Foundation to initiate a vocational education pilot project in two locations, namely the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate in Serang Regency and the Sawah Luhur Industrial Estate in Serang City.
“Currently, the foundation is conducting a feasibility study stage in the two areas by considering location, school-age demographics, availability of nearby SMKs, and the economic conditions of the community,” he said.
The Banten Provincial Government’s efforts are in line with the improving trend in labour absorption. Based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the TPT in Banten Province in May 2026 stood at 6.48 percent, down 0.11 points compared to February 2026.
BPS also recorded that the total employed population reached 5.88 million people, an increase of 57 thousand people from February 2026. The working-age population in Banten in May 2026 was recorded at 9.62 million people, with a labour force reaching 6.29 million people.
In addition to the pilot project in industrial areas, the Banten Provincial Government is also strengthening the competitiveness of local workers through various priority policies. These steps include opening competency-based training at UPTD for working-age residents, optimising the job vacancy information system (Siloker), organising Job Fairs, and expanding employment opportunities.
The Governor added that with around 8,924 small to large scale industries operating in Banten, optimising this vocational education pattern is expected to enable SMK graduates to be absorbed as reliable and professional workers.
“So the problem of SMK graduates who have not been accommodated in the world of work can be resolved in the future,” concluded Andra Soni.