The government issued Minister of Manpower Regulation (Permenaker) Number 8 of 2025 on 30 September 2025 related to government assistance for apprenticeship programs. This Permenaker is a legal umbrella that regulates more fully the implementation of economic stimulus programs aimed at college graduates.
Broadly speaking, Article 2 states that government assistance in the form of this apprenticeship program aims to improve competence, work experience, and employment opportunities for college graduates. College graduates who receive this government assistance can only participate in this six-month apprenticeship program once.
This paid internship program is the government's breakthrough effort to reduce the unemployment rate among educated people. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that although the unemployment rate as of February 2025 decreased to 7.28 million people (4.76%), the unemployment rate among educated people actually increased by 17.3% compared to August 2024.
As of February 2025, the number of unemployed people in the academy/diploma graduate group amounted to 177,399 people and in the university/graduate graduate group (including diploma IV) amounted to 1,010,652 people. In total, there were 1,188,051 people, equivalent to 16.3% of the total unemployed. Meanwhile, unemployment in the diploma and undergraduate groups as of August 2024 amounted to 1,012,905 people or equivalent to 13.6% of the total unemployment.
Graduates who can participate in this apprenticeship program are Indonesian citizens who graduated from a diploma or undergraduate education program no later than one year at the time of registration, calculated from the date of the diploma. Graduates come from higher education institutions registered with the Ministry that organizes higher education sub-government affairs which is the scope of government affairs in the field of education and government affairs in the field of science and technology.
Participants in this apprenticeship program will receive payment at the provincial minimum wage in their respective domiciles. Article 11 states that apprenticeship participants receive assistance in the form of pocket money whose amount is determined by the Minister. The money is transferred to the participants' accounts through government banks, namely BNI, BRI, BTN, Bank Mandiri, and Bank Syariah Indonesia.
To be able to join this paid apprenticeship program, prospective participants must register through the Employment Service Information and Application System or SIAP Kerja application which is then validated by the relevant Ministry or Institution. Then follow the recruitment process by the apprenticeship organizing company.
The company organizing the apprenticeship must also be registered with SIAP Kerja. For businesses, the government-paid apprenticeship program is an opportunity to increase productivity with the help of better quality workers.
Registration for this apprenticeship program will begin on October 15. For the initial stage, the program is open to 20,000 participants.
The government plans to have the paid internship program up and running by 2025 and 2026. Due to its short-term nature, the government must continue to create new jobs to address long-term unemployment. The apprenticeship program is only a stepping stone for university graduates to build professional experience and networks, as well as opportunities for permanent hiring.
