Indonesia's Education Ministry Outlines Path for Vocational Students to Work Abroad

Indonesia's Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education announced a step‑by‑step programme to prepare vocational high‑school (SMK) students for overseas employment. The plan, presented by Director Arie Wibowo Khurniawan, calls for early career planning from Grade 10, strengthening global talent foundations through character education, work discipline and basic foreign‑language skills.

In Grade 11 schools should add industry‑based learning, teaching factories and project‑based projects together with intermediate language training and competency‑certification prep. Grade 12 focuses on obtaining skill, language and legal documentation certifications and supporting internships and job‑matching. A new “3+1” model adds a compulsory fifth year (Grade 13) so that students aged 18 can complete legal paperwork and be dispatched to their target countries.

The initiative aims to make SMK graduates legally, safely and respectfully employable abroad, expanding Indonesia’s skilled‑labour pool.