Selected Speaker for IDF 2019: Endra Sulistyono Wants to Use YouTube to Show-off the Skills of SMK Students 

Endra Sulistyono

A selected speaker for IDF 2019, Endra Sulistyono, wants schools to use the YouTube platform as a space to promote the skills of Vocational Schools (SMK) students. Through his presentation entitled “Using YouTube for SMK Graduates” in Indonesia Development Forum (IDF) 2019, Endra explained that the skills of SMK students are not widely known.

“With a platform like YouTube, these SMK graduates’ skills, such as fixing broken motor vehicle engines or preparing economic and nutritious food, fashion and design, and computer programming, can be promoted to the public,” said Endra.

Endra works as an analyst in the Fiscal Policy Agency of the Ministry of Finance. Graduated from the Developmental Study Program of Trisakti University, he actively writes opinion-editorial articles in national mass media regarding economic development issues. He is currently researching the role of happiness in developing the economy.

Beyond his job as an analyst, Endra is starting a social entrepreneurship business with a Waste Learning House concept, turning waste as a payment scheme in learning course institutions. Endra is also currently doing videography as a hobby.

It is from this hobby that Endra’s research on using YouTube as a platform for SMK students began. At first, Endra, along with other videographers, were struggling to find objects for their videos. They then decided to take snapshots of the learning results of SMK students prepared to enter the working world faster than Senior High School (SMA) graduates.

“SMK students have actually been equipped with technical and applicable skills. I see a lot of amazing results from SMK students, results that are useful for the public. But it seems that not many people know about their expertise,” said Endra.

On the other hand, Endra sees that YouTube, as a digital platform used to seek entertainment and new information, has an enormous number of users. Data from Katadata, SimilarWeb and Visual Capitalist places Youtube.com site in second place with 24.31 billion visits per month. YouTube also launches local versions in more than 91 countries in the world. Endra said that in Indonesia, becoming a YouTuber or content creator is beginning to garner interest from the public, especially from young generations.

Creating Link and Match through YouTube

These unexposed SMK students’ skills and the advantage of YouTube have given birth to Endra’s idea. He wants to take part in generating a link and match process between the industrial and education sector.

“And in this case, YouTube can be a cheap facility to help this link and match process,” added Endra.

Endra then lists the benefits of using YouTube to show off SMK students’ skills. First, it makes people’s lives easier by providing tutorials to apply a subject studied by SMK graduates. Second, being a YouTuber becomes an alternative way to earn income for SMK graduates. Third, it introduces to employers that SMK graduates have sufficient skills to enter and be absorbed in the working world. The scheme of link and match can be done to introduce SMK graduates to employers so that they are recruited much faster.

Encourage Creating Attractive Content and National Portal

To support the idea of using YouTube, Endra said, students need to be encouraged to create YouTube content. Students are taught to make attractive content and packaging through a mandatory extracurricular activity in school.

“They are actually excited to make new things. Many of them are already able to make YouTube content,” he added.

Introducing the skills to make YouTube content needs to start since the tenth grade (the first grade of SMK).

“By the time they are in the eleventh or thirteenth (second or third grade of SMK), they will be experts on it, and when graduating, people will already know them,” continued Endra. 

Meanwhile, the national government, collaborating with vocational education stakeholders, can establish a national portal.

“The approach can begin from each city. The local government, in this case, the Education Office, can promote student expertise in its own region,” added Endra.

Schools can send content to the established portal. Establishing this integrated portal will make YouTube an official, structured, and credible forum to show off SMK students’ expertise.

“This can serve as a reference portal. If you want to look for an assistant for fixing engines, you can search in this portal by looking at videos describing practices where students are conducting this work,” close Endra.

Through this paper, Endra explains about innovation in teaching and learning tools, including using technology to support better teaching and learning. This is one of the points highlighted in Sub-theme 2 of IDF 2019, Reforming the Vocational Education and Training (TVET) System for Future Jobs.

Endra presented his work on the Ideas and Innovations Marketplace Co-Creating and Collaborating session on July 22, 2019. This session is a part of the IDF 2019 series with the main theme of “Mission Possible: Seizing the Opportunities for Future Work to Drive Inclusive Growth.”