One year into a government internship program placing fresh graduates in subsidized roles across the country, many of its participants are struggling to secure permanent jobs, citing intense competition in a tightening market.
Job seekers wait in line during the opening of the 2026 Bogor Job Fair at Plaza Jambu Dua in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, on June 8, 2026. The job fair, organized by the Bogor Manpower Office and attended by 30 local and national companies offering 3,212 job vacancies, aims to connect job seekers directly with employers and help reduce unemployment in West Java. (Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
The government has wrapped up the first year of its internship program for fresh graduates and plans to expand the initiative this year, but many of the program’s participants are struggling to find jobs, citing intense competition in a tightening market.Law graduate Randy Verda completed the program in May, having spent six months as a legal analyst intern at a government institution. As he was not offered a permanent position at the end of the work placement, he is now actively looking for full-time work.
“Some of the [job] requirements just don’t make sense,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday, adding that “for example, many companies require us, fresh graduates, to have a minimum of two to three years of experience. But we’ve just graduated with six months of internship experience.”
