Struggling to Find Work After Vocational School? Try This Ministry Programme

Job opportunities abroad for vocational high school (SMK) graduates remain wide open. Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, Turkey, and several European countries currently need Indonesian workers for various sectors, including caregiving, manufacturing, welding, construction, transport, hospitality, nursing, agriculture, and wellness therapy. To meet this demand, the Ministry of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (KP2MI) has launched the Asta Mandala SMK Go Global programme, designed to prepare SMK graduates and the general public with competencies tailored to industry needs in destination countries. Minister of P2MI Mukhtarudin stated that the training under this programme is not generic but based on specific labour requests submitted by placement countries. This ensures that graduates are directly absorbed into the international job market. ‘The mechanism is that the market, the placement country, and the sector come first. Once we know what competencies are needed, we train accordingly. So it is train, become competent, then place. The key performance indicator is placement, not just training,’ Mukhtarudin said at a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Wednesday. He explained that the government first maps labour needs through job orders verified by Indonesian representatives in each placement country. Once the required competencies are identified, participants receive appropriate training. Mukhtarudin revealed that the countries currently needing the most Indonesian migrant workers include Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Turkey, Germany, and several nations in Europe and the Middle East. ‘The countries with the highest demand are Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong, as well as some European countries including Turkey and Germany. In Asia, there is also the Maldives for wellness therapists. So mostly Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, but the demand there is for formal roles, hospitality, and nurses,’ he said. Registration opens on 12 August 2026. Interested individuals can sign up through KP2MI centres across 23 provinces. The programme prioritises SMK graduates and members of the public who wish to work overseas. In its initial phase, the government is implementing an upskilling scheme, enhancing the competencies of participants who already possess basic skills in their field. ‘Because this is a quick win, we are starting with upskilling, not from zero. It is not for people with no background in a particular skill. For example, someone already has welding skills but lacks language ability and certification. Others may have language skills but need technical training. We profile participants during recruitment to understand their existing abilities, basic skills, languages mastered, and whether they hold certifications,’ Mukhtarudin explained. The training covers three main components: improving technical abilities, learning the foreign language of the destination country, and obtaining competency certification. He noted that this training is not part of the formal curriculum in vocational schools or universities. It is designed as supplementary training to ensure participants meet the competency standards required by global industry. ‘We are not linking this to the curriculum of primary, secondary, or higher education. It is separate. It focuses more on strengthening technical, language, and certification aspects. It is not inserted into the curriculum because this is a short-term, quick-win programme,’ he said. Prospective participants must also commit to working abroad. From the outset, they are required to sign a statement of willingness to work overseas and obtain parental consent. ‘Equally important is the statement of willingness to work abroad, because the target is indeed overseas. So from the beginning, there is a written statement of parental permission and a statement of willingness to work abroad. They know that joining this training is for working overseas,’ he stated. He added that starting in 2027, training will be conducted regularly, allowing participants without basic skills to join with a longer training duration of around six to seven months. Mukhtarudin confirmed that all training and certification are provided free of charge, funded by the state budget. ‘Everything is funded by the state budget, free of charge. There is no cost for this capacity-building training, including certification. The technical training, language training, and certification are all paid for by the state budget. So everything is free for prospective migrant workers who are ready to work abroad and need to enhance their capacity,’ he concluded.