JAKARTA - The Indonesian government is preparing to send 500,000 vocational and senior high school graduates abroad through the SMK Go Global programme.

Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar announced the initiative at a press conference on Wednesday alongside Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI) Mukhtarudin, Antara News reported.

Iskandar explained that the programme aims to enhance the skills and employability of Indonesian graduates to take advantage of overseas job opportunities.

"Through this program, which will begin in late 2025 and continue through 2026, we will send SMK and SMA graduates who are interested and have specific skills, whether in welding, hospitality, healthcare, or other fields," he said.

He added that a budget of Rp2.6 billion (approximately US$155,000) has been allocated to support the deployment of 500,000 graduates to countries in need of skilled labour.

"There are many opportunities in Germany, Turkey, and Japan, which are widely open to workers with specialised skills. Those who are interested will receive training before departure," he added.

Mukhtarudin said the 500,000 participants will comprise 300,000 SMK graduates and 200,000 individuals from the general public.

He highlighted that the P2MI Ministry is ready to implement the programme, which will include foreign language training as part of pre-departure preparation.

"This means we must strengthen vocational education. It’s impossible to send our workers overseas if they cannot understand the language of the destination country," he remarked.

Data from the Ministry of Manpower shows that about 1.5 million SMK graduates have yet to be absorbed into the domestic labour market, prompting the launch of the Quick Win Programme to improve the competitiveness of Indonesian workers through vocational institutions.