JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti sent off 3,600 vocational graduates for overseas jobs in Surabaya, East Java. The graduates will be placed in 14 destination countries, including Japan.

Indonesia’s state-owned news agency Antara reported on May 20 that the group consisted of 3,000 vocational high school graduates, known as SMK graduates, and 600 graduates from course and training institutions, known as LKP graduates. East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa joined Mu’ti at the send-off.

The placement list includes Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, China, Brunei Darussalam and Thailand, along with Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bulgaria. The Asia-Pacific destinations account for most of the countries named in the East Java release carried by Antara.

Abdul Mu’ti said the graduates had contracts with official institutions and would work in professional sectors. “We have stressed from the beginning that education is not limited to learning at school, but also includes learning in course institutions,” he said.

East Java’s 2026 overseas work and internship plan covers 4,920 participants and alumni from 112 SMK and LKP, according to data cited by Antara. The total includes 3,186 grade 12 students and 1,734 alumni. A total of 1,617 participants had passed selection and obtained fixed-term employment contracts, which consisted of 587 students and 1,030 alumni. 

The send-off follows the government’s push for overseas employment classes in SMKs. The Directorate of SMK said on March 26 that Indonesia’s Overseas Employment Class 3+1 programme combines three years of regular SMK learning with one additional year to prepare students in vocational skills, foreign language and destination-country work culture. 

Tatang Muttaqin, director general for vocational, special and special-service education, said many developed countries face labour shortages in caregiving, manufacturing and hospitality. He linked the programme to Indonesia’s migrant worker protection ministry target to place 500,000 workers overseas in 2026, with a focus on secondary-education graduates. 

The Directorate of SMK said the programme also seeks to reduce preparation costs for students who want to work abroad. Participating students receive SMK diplomas, competency certificates and school recommendations for overseas work after completing the programme.