Relevance of Vocational Higher Education Graduates with Requirements of Workforce in Indonesia

Indonesia is characterized by the cross-border integration of labor force. With the emergence of various new jobs, with the increase of innovative technology and creativity, Indonesia's demand for labor force continues to increase and it faces increasingly fierce competition. Vocational Higher Education as higher education that produces ready-to-use graduates is increasingly to meet the needs of an increasingly dynamic and complex world of work. The purpose of this study is to examine the job demand of graduates from vocational universities in Indonesia. The approach taken is a quantitative approach using secondary data from the Directorate General of Higher Education and BPS to produce relevant research. Based on macro data, the current tendency in Indonesia to open many new universities massively and more profitably without providing adequate and quality infrastructure, so that the number of graduates is increasing. The gap between the demand and supply of formal workers who do not match education and skills is more than half. It opens opportunities for foreign workers. Thus, there is a need for increased cooperation and synergy between vocational universities in Indonesia and the business world.