"This is part of the process. Prospective participants are also starting to see the opportunities, and companies have their own considerations when opening positions," said Yassierli while reviewing internships at one of PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) (Persero) Tbk's offices, Grha BNI Jakarta, on Friday.
Internship positions at state-owned enterprises are highly competitive, prompting graduates to consider opportunities in the private sector. The government believes this has encouraged increased participation by private companies in the program, he explained.
"I heard that batch 2 is starting to receive a lot of informal advice . If possible, if you're confident, choose this (internship) location. If not, choose this," said Yassierli, referring to participants' strategies for identifying opportunities at various companies.
To expand opportunities, the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) is encouraging regional governments to coordinate the opening of positions through Regionally-Owned Enterprises (BUMD) and Regional Public Service Agencies (BLUD) so that graduates do not have to move to big cities to gain their first work experience.
"We want this opportunity to be shared equally, not just in big cities," he said.
The National Internship Program is a priority policy of President Prabowo Subianto in preparing the workforce through six months of work experience in companies.
This scheme is considered to speed up the recruitment process because companies can assess participants' performance directly.
By the end of November 2025, the program had recruited approximately 80,000 participants in two batches out of a target of 100,000 participants by the end of 2025, with the implementation of the third batch to be completed soon before a comprehensive evaluation is conducted.
"We continue to monitor its implementation to ensure optimal benefits for participants and companies," he said.
