Vocational High Schools were once again in the spotlight after several studies stated that vocational graduates were unable to compete with high school graduates in the labor market. The study is based on data from the Central Statistics Agency on the level of open unemployment of vocational school graduates who consistently increased from 2011 to 2018.
Responding to the debate about vocational schools, Article 33 Indonesia, based on the results of its research, found that the determinant of a person being hired is his achievement, not his educational background as a vocational or high school graduate. For this reason, Article 33 Indonesia recommends that the Ministry of Education and Culture focus on improving the quality of education. The finding is one of the results of a study entitled “Revitalization of Vocational Schools and their Relevance to Business and Industry”. The results of the study were presented during dissemination held by the Center for Policy and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Education in Jakarta on November 1, 2019 at the Millennium Hotel, Jakarta.
The policy discussion program was attended by the Directorate of Vocational Development of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the German chamber of commerce (EKONID), representatives of German companies, hospitality, and representatives of Indonesian chef pastry associations, as well as several head of vocational schools in Jakarta. The Article 33 study above was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Knowledge Sector Innitiative (KSI) funded by DFAT Australia. The study was the third study which received support from the Ministry of Education and Culture PKLN with a different theme.
