JAKARTA - Jakarta’s provincial government sent off 561 senior vocational high school (SMK) alumni for overseas jobs in Japan, Malaysia, and Germany during a National Education Day event at City Hall on Monday, May 4, according to a city government release published the same day.

The ceremony was led by Deputy Governor Rano Karno, with Governor Pramono Anung, Jakarta officials, teachers, and students attending. The city said the overseas placement was part of its vocational education push.

“This is the new face of Jakarta’s vocational education,” Karno said. “SMK graduates are not only ready to enter the workforce, but are also able to compete at the global level.” 

The release, however, did not give a country-by-country breakdown for the 561 alumni or specify their sectors. It identified only three destination countries: Japan, Malaysia, and Germany, all of which appear in Indonesia’s current labour mobility planning for skilled and vocational workers. 

The Jakarta send-off fits into the national SMK Go Global agenda. The Migrant Worker Protection Ministry said in February that the programme is designed to move vocational graduates into overseas jobs that are safe, skilled, and protected, with preparation covering technical skills, language, contracts, and placement costs. 

Back in March, the ministry also launched the 2026 migrant worker placement loan scheme, offering loans of up to Rp100 million at 6 percent interest for costs such as training, certification, documents, and tickets.

Indonesia placed 296,948 migrant workers abroad in 2025, above the national target of 259,144, according to the Migrant Worker Protection Ministry. Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan were the five largest destination countries with domestic work and care work still dominating placements. 

Rano said Jakarta wants vocational education to lead to work beyond the domestic labour market. “Graduates are not only ready to enter the workforce, but are also able to compete at the global level,” he said. 

During the May 4 event, Jakarta also said it had disbursed higher education grants to 15,825 university students with a budget of Rp142.425 billion, prepared the release of 2,026 withheld diplomas through a debt-clearing scheme worth almost Rp4 billion, and would start a free private school programme for 103 schools in the 2026/2027 academic year.