Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar said the program is aimed at bridging the supply of skilled SMK graduates and the demand from employers, especially abroad.
"We must prepare from the upstream and downstream sides. On the upstream side, all SMKs must be prepared well; we must prepare the graduates from early," he said at the SMK Go Global workshop here on Monday.
He explained that the program is being implemented by strengthening the curriculum, particularly in skills and language proficiency, to prepare SMK graduates early on to seize job opportunities abroad.
"The vocational curriculum and teaching system are the main upstream focus of the SMK Go Global program," he asserted.
Iskandar highlighted data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) in August 2025, which showed the Open Unemployment Rate (TPT) in Indonesia stood at 7.46 million people, or the equivalent of 4.85 percent of the total workforce. Of that total, 1.63 million were SMK graduates.
Therefore, he called for effective collaboration in implementing the SMK Go Global program as a quick, effective step that can only be mobilized through the cooperation of all stakeholders.
"The SMK Go Global program is a quick and precise solution because there are open opportunities, a large number of available jobs, and promising incomes," he stated.
In response, the Deputy Governor of West Java, Erwan Setiawan, welcomed the SMK Go Global program, which, according to him, is a very strategic breakthrough because it integrates language proficiency strengthening and skills training.
"This program not only opens job opportunities but also builds our children's global experience," he said.
Under the SMK Go Global program, the Indonesian government is facilitating 500 thousand graduates to work abroad in 2025, and further increasing the number to over 1 million starting from 2026.
This year, the Ministry of Community Empowerment is targeting to send the participants abroad in the second week of December.
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Translator: Sean Filo, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
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