SMK Go Global is a targeted program responding directly to a directive from President Prabowo Subianto to accelerate skilled migrant worker deployment focusing on Indonesia’s vocational school (SMK) graduate base. On 18 November 2025, Coordinating Minister Muhaimin Iskandar chaired a coordination meeting with Minister Mukhtarudin to formalize the program’s roadmap and deployment timeline.
The program targets 500,000 placements, of which are to be sourced from SMK graduates and from the general working-age population. According to Minister Mukhtarudin, the program addresses a structural mismatch: millions of SMK graduates are currently unemployed or not in further education, while global demand for skilled workers in caregiving, welding, hospitality, and manufacturing continues to expand in Indonesia’s five priority destination countries: Japan, South Korea, Germany, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Program participants will receive supplementary language training as well as technical skills upgrading and certification, aligned with the specific requirements of their destination country and sector. Coordination involves KP2MI, Kemenko PM, the Ministry of Industry, and vocational training centers under the Ministry of Manpower. Full-scale deployment is expected to accelerate in 2026 subject to disbursement of the supplementary budget directed by President Prabowo.
