Indonesia’s Minister of Manpower, Yassierli, announced that the second wave of the National Internship Program successfully onboarded 62,128 participants. Despite a robust total of approximately 188,000 applicants, a substantial 29% of the available internship vacancies—roughly 25,000 positions—remained unfilled during this second phase.
Minister Yassierli further elaborated that the high interest from applicants was primarily concentrated on prestigious state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and administrative roles. For example, a single vacancy within an SOE could attract anywhere from 200 to an astounding 1,000 applicants, highlighting intense competition for these coveted placements. Conversely, many other valuable opportunities garnered minimal to no interest.
“Participant interest continues to be focused on large corporations and specific job functions. Therefore, I advise participants to strategically explore opportunities in vacancies that offer a higher chance of acceptance,” Yassierli stated from his office on Wednesday, November 26.
The Ministry of Manpower’s data for the second wave indicated widespread participation, with 4,669 private companies and 2,500 work units across 47 ministries and government agencies acting as internship providers. However, Yassierli also pointed out a significant geographical disparity in participant distribution, noting that the majority of applicants originated from major urban centers like Jakarta and West Java.
Anwar Sanusi, Head of the Manpower Planning and Development Agency, shed light on why many internship positions remained vacant. He explained that some roles required excessively high qualifications, while others were located in areas inconveniently far from the participants’ domiciles. Alarmingly, several positions failed to attract any applicants whatsoever.
“Consider positions like pharmacist assistant and doctor assistant. These vacancies likely saw no interest either because their qualification demands were too steep, or the talent for such roles has already been absorbed into the existing job market,” Anwar clarified.
In stark contrast, numerous institutions and companies experienced an overwhelming surge of applicants. These included prominent entities such as the Financial Services Authority, Bank Indonesia, PT Pertamina, PT Panasonic Gobel Group, PT Huawei Tech Investment, and all state-owned banks, showcasing a concentrated demand for specific employers.
In total, this second wave of the National Internship Program saw over 4,600 private companies and 2,500 work units across 47 ministries and government institutions actively opening their doors to interns.
National Internship Evaluation
It is worth noting that the first wave of the National Internship Program, which commenced on October 20, 2025, involved 14,913 participants. Each participant in this program is entitled to a monthly allowance equivalent to the minimum wage of the district or city where their assigned company operates.
However, Anwar disclosed that not all first-wave participants had received their allowances even after a month of work. This delay was primarily attributed to administrative challenges, specifically the outstanding approval of participant activity reports by mentors overseeing the National Internship Program at various companies.
“The allowances haven’t all been transferred yet due to administrative issues only. We hope that all allowances will be successfully transferred to the first-wave participants today,” he assured.
Anwar confirmed that no companies had lodged formal complaints against the first-wave National Internship Program participants. Nevertheless, Anwar observed that some of these participants inadvertently reinforced prevailing stigmas associated with Generation Z in the professional world.
Anwar revealed that a number of first-wave participants disappeared shortly after the program’s inception. He posited that Generation Z holds a distinct perception of the workplace, which significantly differs from that of previous generations.
“While Generation Z often possesses advanced technological proficiencies, their outlook on work diverges from older generations. This fundamental difference is often why they sometimes struggle to adapt and thrive in traditional work environments,” he concluded.
Summary
The second wave of Indonesia’s National Internship Program successfully onboarded 62,128 participants, yet approximately 25,000 (29%) of available vacancies remained unfilled despite a total of 188,000 applicants. Interest was overwhelmingly concentrated on prestigious state-owned enterprises and administrative roles, leading to intense competition for some positions while many others garnered minimal to no interest. Minister Yassierli advised applicants to strategically explore opportunities with a higher chance of acceptance.
Reasons for the unfilled positions included excessively high qualification demands and inconvenient locations, particularly for specialized roles like pharmacist or doctor assistant. The program, which involved thousands of private companies and government units, also saw administrative delays in allowance payments for first-wave participants. Additionally, some first-wave Generation Z participants reportedly reinforced stigmas by disappearing shortly after the program began, highlighting their distinct perception of the workplace compared to older generations.
