High-level policy dialogue on an industry-oriented dual VET system in Indonesia with participation of DC dVET

The DC dVET accompanies and advises the German TVET System Reform (TSR) project (GIZ, funded by BMZ) and the Swiss Skills for Competitiveness (S4C) project in Indonesia on cost-benefit considerations for companies in dual VET for some time now. As part of this process, a motivation survey with companies was conducted. The aim of the study was to better understand the challenges of companies that offer internships and why other companies do not offer internships at all. About 160 companies from different regions and sectors participated in the survey that was conducted by the two projects in cooperation with BPSDMI (training agency of the Ministry of Industry) and EDUKADIN (local employers’ organisation) and with the support from DC dVET and Prof. Dr. Wolter (University of Bern).

On 17 May 2022 a high-level policy dialogue was held to present the results of the survey, discuss them with stakeholders and derive recommendations for the new national VET strategy that is currently being developed. During the event, the importance of the study for the further development of the Indonesian VET system was highlighted.

Overall, the study comes to the conclusion that it is not primarily the costs that prevent companies from providing internships. Even the tax reduction that is already offered to participating companies does not seem to motivate them to participate more. The overarching problem rather seems to be that companies do not see the benefit of the internships because they are not tailored to their needs. In order to generate greater benefits, retain trained professionals and strengthen competitiveness, Prof. Wolter suggests amongst others the following measures:

• Align internships/training better with the needs of the companies:
  • Selection of interns/trainees by companies and not by schools,
  • Inclusion of companies in the design of curricula.
• State support to companies to build up a “training ecosystem” for securing future talents in which companies can bundle their efforts (in the sense of “competitors in business but allies in training”).
• Strengthen already existing activities for in-company trainers and support them from the government side. In this way, the productivity of interns and the quality of training can be strengthened. In addition, companies can be supported in how to use interns productively and meaningful.
• Improve government efforts to invest in school education and thus improve the education of school leavers and make them more productively employable by enterprises.

For more information on the conclusions and recommendations see also: Slides Prof. Dr. Wolter.

For more information on cost-benefit considerations for companies in dual VET see: DC dVET Website on Cost-Benefits.