Government Launches National Vocational Training and Establishes Collaboration with UGM
The Indonesian government is strengthening strategic measures to prepare Indonesia’s young workforce for the vision of Golden Indonesia 2045. The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto emphasised that retraining (reskilling) and skills enhancement (upskilling) programmes are crucial, particularly for the 3.28 million senior high school and vocational school graduates in the 2024-2025 academic year.
“This aligns with the government’s policy direction to realise superior human resources for Golden Indonesia in 2045,” said Menko Airlangga in Jakarta on Friday.
Data demonstrates that senior high school and vocational school graduates dominate the structure of the national workforce. Of the total 148 million workers, senior high school graduates account for 20 per cent or approximately 31.05 million people, whilst vocational school graduates contribute 14 per cent or approximately 20.8 million people.
Given the significance of this proportion, the government believes it is important for these graduates to be equipped with practical skills and competency certificates. This is expected to open broader access to the formal sector and shorten the transition period from education to employment.
In response, the government through the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) has prepared the National Vocational Training programme set to commence in April 2026. Minister of Manpower Yassierli explained at a press conference in Jakarta on Friday that the first phase of training will absorb at least 20,000 participants.
“Our hope is certainly that this can be optimised. So in addition to the National Internship programme for university graduates, we are also providing an alternative programme for senior high school and vocational school graduates,” she said.
The programme, which has already entered the registration phase, offers 37 vocational groups spread across 33 training locations with a total of 830 classes. The diverse vocational fields offered cover contemporary areas such as information and communication technology, business and management, tourism, fashion, automotive, electrical trades, agricultural mechanisation, and construction.
The learning process is designed with flexibility through online, offline, and hybrid (blended learning) methods guided by certified mentors.
To ensure the smooth progress of participants during training, the government provides various supporting facilities. These include lunch, transport allowances of Rp20,000 per day, and protection in the form of Work Accident Insurance (JKK) and Death Insurance (JKM).
Upon completing the programme, participants will also receive training modules and official competency certificates from the National Professional Certification Board (BNSP).
Minister Yassierli added that the graduates targeted by this programme are those who graduated within the last three years. She hopes the programme will receive high enthusiasm from the public. “We want these 20,000 people to truly be those who have a connection and relevance to the training field they undertake, so that employment opportunities are greater,” she emphasised.
She also ensured that the Kemnaker training centres will help connect graduates with industry or guide them to start entrepreneurial ventures. Further information regarding this programme can be accessed through the skilhub.kemenaker.go.id website.
On the other hand, efforts to develop young talent in the financial sector are also being pursued through collaboration with academia. The Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) has officially partnered with Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in a strategic programme that encompasses research, internships, scholarships, and educational infrastructure support.
The Chairman of the LPS Board of Commissioners Anggito Abimanyu stated that this collaboration is a follow-up to a memorandum of understanding signed in December 2025.
“We request that financial literacy be enhanced. If necessary, there could be special lectures on deposit insurance or banking or insurance resolution,” said Anggito following the signing of the collaboration at UGM’s Innovation and Creativity Arena (GIK) in Sleman on Friday.