Indonesia to Deploy 500k Skilled Graduates Abroad

• Indonesia launches programme sending 500,000 graduates for overseas jobs.
• Participants receive skills, language training for international job placements.
• Initiative targets unemployment reduction and boosts global workforce competitiveness.

Indonesia is preparing to initiate a significant overseas employment initiative, sending 500,000 vocational and high school graduates abroad through the SMK Go Global programme, announced Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar. The project seeks to enhance the international competitiveness of Indonesian youth while tackling local unemployment among vocational graduates.

During a press conference with the Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI), Mukhtarudin, Iskandar announced that the program will commence in late 2025 and extend throughout 2026, focusing on job placements in nations experiencing skilled labor shortages, such as Germany, Turkey, and Japan.

This program will involve the deployment of graduates proficient in welding, hospitality, healthcare, and various other sectors. “Participants will undergo training and language preparation before departure,” Iskandar stated, noting that Rp2.6 billion (US$155,000) has been designated to facilitate the implementation.

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Minister Mukhtarudin highlighted that the initiative will encompass training in foreign languages and cultural preparedness, acknowledging communication barriers as a significant challenge for Indonesian migrant workers. The P2MI Ministry will manage the program's implementation to guarantee that participants are prepared for international labor standards.

The government anticipates that the initiative will assist in incorporating some of the 1.5 million SMK graduates who are presently unemployed in the country. The initiative is in line with Indonesia’s wider Quick Win Programme, which seeks to enhance the national workforce via vocational education and global partnerships, strengthening the nation’s status in the international labor market.