Indonesia: Vocational Education Strengthening Project

The project was designed to support Indonesia’s economic development, embrace technological change, maintain the relevance of skilled personnel, sustain productivity growth, and reduce poverty. Senior secondary vocational school graduates (grades 10–12) lacked adequate skills to enter industry and business enterprises, and were adding to levels of unemployment throughout the country. Focusing on vocational schools and changing the way they conducted their business was considered critical to transform Indonesia’s vocational and technical education system. The project would promote entrepreneurship among the younger generation and facilitate self-employment among vocational school graduates. In addition, it would provide a venue for existing workers to upgrade their skills. Greater familiarity with information and communication technology-driven applications in work situations provided a promising way forward. Vocational schools would also develop a formal organizational link with industries and businesses, especially international corporations and multinationals. The project sought to empower schools to adopt a businesslike approach in day-to-day management, including planning and managing their own resources.

This report validates the completion report’s assessment of the project. IED overall assessment: Successful.