Education and training exhibitions currently on

Education and training exhibitions currently on

JAKARTA (JP): More than 400 higher education and training institutions are currently taking part in an "Education and Training Expo" at the Jakarta Convention Center.

The exhibition opened yesterday and will run until Monday.

The expo involves both local and foreign institutions, including the state-owned Bandung Institute of Technology, Cendrawasih University (Jayapura) and the Open University (Jakarta), as well as private colleges and academies such as the Indonesian Higher Institution of Arts in Denpasar, Sahid University, Bung Hatta University and the Trisakti Academy of Graphics Technology.

Foreign institutions participating in the expo, which was opened yesterday by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas, include the Swiss Hotel Management School, Lasalle International Fashion School, the British Council, the Japan Foundation, the Erasmus Language Center, the James Boswell Institute and the Goethe Institute.

The exhibition was full of uniformed high-school students yesterday. Many of them came in groups led by their teachers.

State universities -- once the dream of every high-school student -- have lately encountered increasing competition from private institutions, academies and short-time courses scattered across the country.

Vocational courses have also become increasingly popular among high-school graduates, particularly since Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro started promoting the "link and match" concept; the matching of high-school graduates with the demands of industry.

PT Star Motors Indonesia, the main distributor of Mercedes- Benz in Indonesia, had a stand at the expo to promote its currently little-known training courses.

Manager of the company's Human Resources Education and Training Division Cahyadi Hendrarko said the programs, lasting between three months and two years, only accepted 20 students at a time.

"We accept students both from general high schools (SMA) and technical high schools (STM)... After graduating, they may work for other companies or start their own business, but we offer jobs at our company to the best students," he said.

Assistant Manager of the company's Central Service Department, Helmut Zeitlhofer, said the course consisted of 80 percent practice and 20 percent theory and covered a wide range of basic automotive, mechanical and problem-solving skills.

Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro has lately been encouraging such vocational courses under the slogan "link and match". (pwn)