West Sumatra and Manpower Ministry Select Participants for Japan Internship Programme

Padang (ANTARA) - The West Sumatra Provincial Government, together with the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and the International Manpower Development Organization Japan (IM Japan), has launched a selection process for participants in the Japan internship programme for the 2026 period.

Acting Regional Secretary of West Sumatra Adib Alfikri explained in Padang on Tuesday that the selection stages will run for four days, from 20 to 24 July.

“We hope that the young people of West Sumatra taking part in this selection can demonstrate their best potential,” he said.

He said a total of 155 participants are undergoing the selection process. They will be tested through various stages, including administrative selection, a basic mathematics test, a physical fitness examination, a physical endurance test and an interview.

Adib said the long-term benefits participants will bring home to Ranah Minangkabau are not merely financial. Among them are mastery of technical competencies (hard skills) aligned with international industry standards, character maturity, mental resilience and excellent time management (soft skills).

Participants will also receive official competency certificates from IM Japan and the Japanese Government, as well as capital to start their own businesses after the internship.

“When they later return to West Sumatra, participants will no longer be job seekers, but will have transformed into job creators,” he hoped.

He said the programme reflects the government’s commitment to supporting the improvement of human resource quality and building a globally competitive workforce.