Cabinet Secretary: National Internship Programme to Boost Fresh Graduate Employment
The Cabinet Secretary, Teddy Indra Wijaya, believes that the National Internship Programme (MagangHub) can enable recent university graduates to be directly absorbed into the professional workforce.
“This programme serves as a tangible bridge for students who have just graduated to start working immediately and earn an income,” said the Cabinet Secretary during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.
He noted that the government still faces a significant task in the labour sector, particularly in efforts to ensure that the young workforce can quickly enter the industrial sector.
According to him, the National Internship Programme, which has been running since last year, is a directive from President Prabost Subianto to address these challenges.
“The core idea is that students who have graduated, particularly those with a Bachelor’s degree, can undergo an internship-work period for six months,” said Teddy.
“Furthermore, they will receive a significant income (stipend), ranging from Rp3.5 million to even Rp6 million, depending on their work location, as it aligns with the minimum wage of the regency or city where they are stationed,” he added.
He assessed that the first cohort of the National Internship Programme for 2025 has received considerable enthusiasm from university graduates.
Consequently, the number of programme participants for 2026 has officially been expanded to 150,000 people, with the internship programme targeted to commence in early August.
“We hope this programme will continue to grow; last year the quota was 100,000 people and this year it is 150,000, so the benefits can be directly felt by university alumni,” said the Cabinet Secretary.
Meanwhile, the participant quota for the first batch of the 2026 National Internship Programme is set at 50,000 people, with registration opening from 15 to 28 July.
From the perspective of industrial partners, companies have until 15 July to register and undergo the verification process to serve as organisers for this year’s National Internship Programme.
Following the conclusion of the participant registration period on 28 July, candidates for the 2026 National Internship Programme will undergo verification and selection from 29 July to 5 August.
Successful participants will be announced on 7 August, and the first day of the 2026 National Internship Programme (Batch I) will officially commence on 10 August.