In the remote corners of Indonesia, where electricity remains a luxury, a transformative initiative is lighting the way.
The Green Jobs – Renewable Energy Provision programme is empowering young people to bring sustainable energy solutions to the nation’s most underserved regions. It is a collaborative effort between Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the IBEKA Foundation.
Launched with the mission to serve villages without reliable access to electricity, the programme focuses on training and deploying youth to frontier, outermost, underdeveloped, and disadvantaged (4T) areas. Participants are equipped with four key competencies: technical skills, perseverance, foundations for community-based development, and a spirit of sincerity.
As of 2025, the programme has engaged 261 students across 27 provinces in Indonesia, reflecting a broad geographic reach. The career pathways of graduates demonstrate the programme’s wide-ranging effect: 20.7% have been absorbed into public services, 33.3% into the private sector, and 18.8% have taken up roles in NGOs.
Around 8.4% have become entrepreneurs, while 7.3% have continued their studies. This diverse distribution showcases the programme’s effectiveness in preparing young professionals for impactful careers in the growing field of green jobs.
Tri Mumpuni, Executive Director of the IBEKA Foundation, provided details of the programme at the BRICS Skills Auditorium.
The Green Jobs programme aligns with Indonesia’s broader efforts to address its vocational education and training (VET) challenges. With high unemployment rates and only about 12% of workers having received formal vocational training, the country faces significant hurdles. About 60% of employers report difficulty finding skilled workers, and an estimated 43% of jobs are at high risk of automation.
In response, a Presidential Regulation enacted in 2022 aims to revitalise VET across the country. Key strategies include enhancing alignment between VET programmes and industry needs, engaging the private sector, expanding online upskilling subsidies, standardising skills certification through a National Qualifications Framework, and optimising government-run training centres.
One notable initiative is the Pre-Employment Card (Kartu Prakerja), a government-funded programme launched in 2020 to enhance digital upskilling and reskilling among job seekers and existing workers. The programme provides online training subsidies of up to Rp 3.5 million (around R3,600) per participant and is delivered in partnership with various leading online learning platforms.
Since its inception, the programme has trained over 18.9 million individuals, covering all 514 districts and cities across Indonesia. Participation has been strongest among young adults, with 61% of trainees aged 18 to 35. However, only about 22% of participants come from rural areas, reflecting ongoing challenges related to internet access in more remote regions.
Despite these challenges, the programme has demonstrated significant positive outcomes. According to recent data, 62% of Kartu Prakerja graduates report higher incomes, averaging a 27% increase, while 38% have started new micro and small businesses. Employment rates among participants increased notably, rising from 39% at registration to 55% just two months after completing training.
Another significant effort is the SMK Revitalisation initiative, which aims to bridge the country’s skills gap by modernising vocational high schools (SMK) in line with Industry 4.0 standards. This programme has fostered robust partnerships with leading industry players such as Siemens and Festo in automation, and Telkom in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT).
By 2025, students from revitalised SMKs are expected to achieve a 94% graduate employment rate, significantly higher than the national SMK average. Graduates from revitalised schools also enjoy salaries approximately 2.1 times higher than those from non-revitalised SMKs.
Despite these promising results, progress remains limited in scale, with only about 300 out of 14,000 SMKs having reached advanced Industry 4.0 revitalisation standards.
