What should Indonesia be doing to prepare the next generation for the jobs of the future? How can Indonesia’s technical and vocational education and training system meet the needs of industry and ensure students are engaged and learning effectively?

Preparing the next generation for the future of work requires smart planning. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is an important investment in the skills needed for a new workforce. Like other developing countries, Indonesia has succeeded in establishing a policy of twelve years of compulsory education, providing job training through vocational training centers, and promoting apprenticeship programs. These efforts aim to ensure that the next generation of workers has the skills they need to succeed. But Indonesia’s TVET system lacks quality, in part because teaching and learning is not effective or efficient, and the skills that are taught are not always well-matched to the needs of industry. Funding is also a key consideration: the government is not able to fully fund and manage TVET for the large number of workers that Indonesia needs.

Todevelop a TVETsystem that can meet future labor market demands, two main issues need to be addressed. First, integrating the national TVETsystem to improve links between government, education and training institutions, and industry. Second, improving the quality and flexibility of teaching and learning in TVETinstitutionsand ensuring that students are engaged and learning effectively.

This sub-theme aims to explore:

• Approaches to integrating government, TVET institutions and industry in developing and managing an effective TVET system;
• Approaches to increasing industry involvement in TVET;
• Approaches to funding and managing TVET, including with the participation of industry and non-government organizations;
• Designing TVET curricula that will prepare the next generation for the nature of the future workforce; 
• Strategies to incentivize workers to undertake training;
• Innovations in teaching and learning tools, including using technology to support better teaching and learning;
• Strategies for improving apprenticeships and certification; 
• Successful TVET systems from other countries that can be adapted to the Indonesian context.