Labour Minister Ensures National Internship Programme Remains Under Continuous Evaluation

Jakarta — The Minister of Labour has ensured that the implementation of the National Internship Programme continues to undergo monitoring and evaluation, especially for companies that host internship participants.

“We conduct evaluations continuously. We have channels through which participants can report any issues, including to and from companies. In this era of social media, everything is very easy and transparent,” said the Labour Minister during an interview with ANTARA at the Ministry of Labour’s office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Furthermore, the Minister stated that the Ministry is prepared to issue warnings to companies that violate internship regulations, including those concerning working hours.

“We have issued warnings to several companies. Some have excessive working hours — we remind them ‘this is an internship’ — we give warnings. Evaluations are ongoing because the programme is still running, so it remains largely quantitative in nature,” he said.

The Labour Minister noted that thus far, many companies and participants have found the National Internship Programme beneficial. From the companies’ perspective, for instance, many choose to recruit internship participants after the programme concludes, deeming them competent and suitable for their needs.

“I asked why they recruit these interns? They answered that rather than having them taken by another company when the programme finishes, they prefer to hire them themselves,” the Minister said.