Migrant Care warns of TPPO modus operandi disguised as overseas internships
Jember, East Java (ANTARA) - Migrant Care has warned relevant parties about a new modus operandi of human trafficking offences (TPPO) disguised as overseas internship programmes that are now targeting university students and school pupils.
“This must be guarded against,” said the Jember Regional Coordinator of Migrant Care, Bambang Teguh Karyanto, during the May Day Goes to Campus discussion themed “The Shadow of TPPO on Campus: New TPPO Modus Operandi Disguised as Internships Targeting Young People” at Taman Kebangsaan, Faculty of Law, University of Jember, East Java, on Friday.
He explained that educational internship schemes have become a trend exploited by certain parties for TPPO, targeting pupils in vocational secondary schools (SMK) and university students in higher education institutions.
He gave an example, based on data, that nationally between 2024 and 2025, there were 1,047 students from 33 universities who became victims of the Feriedjob internship in Germany.
“In Jember, the internship modus operandi often targets pupils, especially in SMK. Based on data from the Integrated Service Centre (PPT) in ten villages in Jember that are locations for our assistance, the number of applications for overseas internships is increasing,” he said.
On one hand, he continued, educational institutions view overseas internships as prestigious, which can enhance the institution’s accreditation, yet for overseas internships, pupils must pay substantial costs ranging from Rp50 million to Rp70 million.
“Several countries that are favourites for student and university internships are Korea, Japan, and Germany, which promise educational or factory internships, yet there are no intergovernmental agreements, making them vulnerable to becoming TPPO victims,” he said.
He explained that campuses are now targets for overseas internship programmes that are actually traps in the context of modern slavery because many parents consider internships the same as working, whereas they are very different from employment.
“If it’s work, there must be a contract, salary, health insurance, and employment security. If it’s an internship, there’s nothing—no salary or anything else. If you want to, go ahead; if not, that’s fine,” he stated.
Therefore, on this International Labour Day, his side urges revisions to Law No. 21 of 2007 on the Eradication of TPPO to make it more relevant to the current developments in criminal modus operandi.
“At the regency level, we hope that the Jember Regency Government will take a role according to its authority and immediately enact a Regional Regulation on Migrant Worker Protection, as such regulation does not yet exist,” he said.