The Government Launches a National Internship Program to Expand Job Opportunities for Young People
The government has officially launched the National Internship Program as a strategic step to expand job opportunities for the younger generation. This program is intended for fresh graduates with a maximum graduation period of one year and will begin on October 15, 2025, through the official government platform, SIAPKerja.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto emphasized that this program is part of the 2025 acceleration agenda.
“The internship program includes a work-ready program. We’ve reviewed its features and discussed the technical details, and we hope to officially launch it on October 15th,” Airlangga said.
Minister of Manpower Yassierli added that preparations for this program have been underway since the beginning of the year. According to him, this initiative was introduced to address the challenges faced by new graduates who often struggle to enter the workforce due to a lack of experience.
“From October 7 to October 13, 2025, prospective interns will then register to choose which positions they will then pursue,” Yassierli explained.
Prior to that, from October 1–7, 2025, companies holding a Business Identification Number (NIB) registered with the Company Mandatory Employment Reporting System (WLKP) will have the opportunity to open internship openings through SIAPKerja. The entire participant and vacancy registration process will be conducted digitally and integrated with the Ayo Magang service.
“We’ve prepared the platform, called Ayo Magang di SIAPkerja. We’re working on it, and God willing, we’ll launch it soon. We’ll provide more detailed information on how to register and so on,” he said.
The requirements for participating in this program are quite simple. Participants must be college graduates who have not been employed for a maximum of one year after graduation. The government is collaborating with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology to validate graduate data.
“We already have data from the last year on who graduated. So we just need to match it when they register on their SIAPkerja account,” said Yassierli.
In the initial phase, the internship quota is set at 20,000 fresh graduates, with a six-month duration. Each participant will receive a salary equivalent to the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) in their respective region. Furthermore, companies are required to provide mentors so that participants not only gain work experience but also improve their competencies.
“Companies accepting these interns must provide mentors, so the context also focuses on how they can improve their competencies during the internship,” Yassierli emphasized.
