National Internship Program: Paving the way for employment

Jakarta (ANTARA) - To help university graduates transition seamlessly into the workforce and avoid long periods of unemployment, the Prabowo Subianto administration has scaled up its strategic National Internship Program.

The second batch officially opened on June 29, 2026, with a quota of 150,000 participants, nearly a 1.5-fold increase from the previous year. Participants will be placed across 8,800 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private companies nationwide.

The program's framework is relatively straightforward. Associate, bachelor's, and professional degree holders who graduated within the past year will undergo a six-month internship at partner companies, guided by mentors.

Throughout the program, participants receive a monthly stipend ranging from Rp3.5 million (around US$193) to Rp6 million, adjusted to the minimum wage standards of their placement region.

Compared to the first batch, this year's implementation is more inclusive by including professional degree graduates and individuals with disabilities, from previously only targeting associate and bachelor's degree holders.

The government budgeted Rp4.2 trillion (approximately US$232.2 million) to fund the second batch of the National Internship Program. This budget is part of a total Rp6.26 trillion earmarked for internship and vocational training programs in the second half of 2026 to reach 420,000 beneficiaries.

Government optimism rests on the success of last year's inaugural implementation. Out of approximately 100,000 participants, around 30 percent, or 30,000 people, were hired as permanent employees at their host companies.

Meanwhile, another 30 percent are still undergoing recruitment processes. These results underpin the government's confidence that the initiative serves as more than a policy formality, but a bridge to employment that is already yielding tangible impact.

This strategic policy has also been welcomed positively by analysts. The stipend scheme, which matches local minimum wages, is viewed as a breakthrough that has never been implemented on such a large scale.

The policy is seen as a state investment in bolstering the competencies of fresh graduates amid a high educated unemployment rate.

Some analysts take an even broader view, seeing the program as a form of social investment that, if consistently implemented, could help soothe youth anxieties over the job market.

However, caution is still needed to balance this optimism. Impressive initial figures do not guarantee the program's sustainability. The true measure of success will only become clear after the internship period ends: whether companies genuinely open up quality job opportunities for the participants or if the program merely ends up as a six-month period that leaves them with no career certainty.

These concerns are not baseless. The Manpower Ministry’s internal evaluation in late June 2026 identified several areas that need improvement before the batch fully rolls out.

These issues range from problems in the registration system that sparked participant complaints to disparities in the quality of mentorship provided by partner companies.

Furthermore, labor unions warned that internship programs must not devolve into a substitute for formal employment. Interns must remain within a framework of learning and competency development, rather than being used to fill permanent staffing needs that should otherwise be met through standard recruitment mechanisms.

Ultimately, the success of the National Internship Program cannot be measured solely by the size of its budget or its number of participants. What is more important is the certainty of the internship duration, the quality of mentorship, and the involvement of labor unions in its oversight.

The program can lay the foundation for healthy industrial relations and pave the way toward decent work, rather than serving as a mere short-term fix that expires alongside its budget.

The National Internship Program now stands at a crossroads between its early achievements and rapidly growing expectations.

Over its two years of implementation, the program's scale has expanded significantly; its scope has become more inclusive, and its claims of success are beginning to be backed by measurable data.

Yet, beneath this growth, several unresolved issues still require collective oversight—starting with ensuring that every intern receives mentorship aligned with their field of expertise.

Furthermore, communication among stakeholders must remain consistent to avoid confusion regarding participants' rights, while the business community must be genuinely prepared to open up job opportunities for its graduates.

In doing so, the National Internship Program will not stop at being a transitional scheme that merely boosts intern numbers. Instead, it will serve as an effective bridge to decent work, rather than a mere mechanism for sourcing cheap labor.

Going forward, the biggest challenge is ensuring the initiative is implemented consistently. Ensuring that 150,000 participants receive high-quality mentorship while safeguarding their rights throughout the program requires commitment and oversight from all stakeholders.

At the end of the day, the initiative's success should be measured by the opportunities created after the internships end. Real success will only be realized when participants can finish the program with sharper skills and have access to decent work. It is this continuity that will turn participation statistics into a tangible solution for labor challenges in Indonesia.

Related news: Mapping the impact of Indonesia's National Internship program

Related news: Indonesia urges firms to fund internship allowances

Related news: UGM expert backs internship program for job seekers

Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Raka Adji

Editor: Azis Kurmala

Copyright © ANTARA 2026