Students need exposure to working world

Students need exposure to working world

JAKARTA (JP): The majority of vocational schools in Indonesia
and their students are ignorant of the working world, resulting
in poor matches of graduates and job requirements, Minister of
Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro says.

"The quality of vocational and technical schools is very
uneven throughout the whole system, with some quite poorly
prepared for their tasks," Wardiman said in a seminar discussing
the link and match concept between the educational world and
industry.

"Frequently, they have little idea of what status their
students will achieve after graduation," he said in his keynote
address, held with the sponsorship of the Australian government.

Australian Minister for Employment, Education and Training
Simon Crean also addressed the opening of the two-day seminar
which is being attended by around 200 local and foreign
participants.

Indonesia is currently in the process of revamping many state-
owned vocational and technical high schools so that they can
supply graduates that match the requirements of industry.

Many students now enroll in vocational schools with little
idea of what kind of job they will seek after graduation,
Wardiman said.

A recent study sponsored by the Asian Development Bank which
traced the status of over 8,000 vocational school graduates
showed that 15 percent found employment in private companies,
nine percent were self-employed, 14 percent pursued higher
education and 12 percent worked for the government. The rest, or
over 50 percent, went undetected.

"This indicates clearly that vocational schools have very
limited linkage with the working world," he said.

"Vocational schools must identify what kind of graduates they
should produce in order to meet the labor market's requirements,"
he said, citing that the link and match policy was aimed at
addressing this problem.

In line with the link and match policy, the government is also
launching the dual system concept which would allow students of
vocational schools to take time off from their studies to work in
industries and therefore gain some valuable working experience.

The government has been active in enlisting private and state
companies to provide apprenticeship programs for students of
vocational schools.

Crean related the Australian experience in implementing the
link and match concept.

He noted that Australia is reforming its educational system to
support its export-oriented economic policy.

"Central to our economic efficiency is a commitment to more
productive capital investment for employment generating
industries, and growth in the value of our exports," Crean said.
"We are therefore expanding and accelerating reforms in our
education and training system to respond to industry concerns
about the relevance and standards of training," he said.

The vocational education system in Australia was undergoing
wide reform to create a system which offered a variety of school
degrees in line with the people's needs, he said.

He told reporters later that Australia was ready to share its
experience with Indonesia to develop the link and match education
system.

The two countries have since long cooperated in the
educational field with Australia ready to provide financial and
staff assistance to launch the link and match education program
and to train Indonesian staff in Australia, he said. (rms)