UNS — Established in December 2018, the Vocational School Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta continues to develop. Various efforts have been taken, and targets have been set to develop the school further. Currently, Vocational School UNS in Solo campus has 24 study programs, two D4 (four years) and D3 (three years). Three D3 programs are taught in Madiun Campus, and this year the school will open another campus in Kebumen.
Vocational education has different characteristics from the academic track. Vice-Rector for Academic and Student Affairs UNS, Prof. Ahmad Yunus, shortly explained the vocational program features in Wedangan IKA UNS seri L on Wednesday (24/3/2021). “Vocational Program is formed to equip students with skills or technical skills needed in certain jobs,” Prof. Yunus said.
Based on this objective, the vocational program is expected to have graduates ready to work and master their specialized job. The Dean of Vocational School UNS, Drs. Santoso Tri Hananto, M.Acc. Ak. explained that at least 60% – 70% of Vocational School UNS learning is practice, accompanied by 40% – 30% of theories. Half of the practices are held in Vocational School industry class and in the industry through an industrial internship. Students are also taught by industrial teachers sent by institutions to teach in the Vocational School UNS. Vocational School students will also have at least one certificate of expertise before graduated. With all of the experiences and professional certification, vocational program graduates are expected to get into the job quickly.
“We hope that students can be truly skilled. After graduated they can proudly say that I can do this and that, not only I have learned this and that. Therefore, on their first day at job, we can make sure that our students are ready to work,” Drs. Santoso said.
Supporting this explanation, the Vice Chairman of Alumni Association (IKA) UNS, Prof. Zudan Arif Fakrulloh sees the urgency in developing vocational education to meet the industrial needs. Prof. Zudan thought vocational programs would solve many workplace problems, governmental institutions, business sectors, and the financial sector. “We need workers with special skills designed for that (job). This is a real need of the industry and labor market in Indonesia, and the vocational program can bridge that,” Prof. Zudan, who serves as Director-General of Population and Civil Registration, stated.
Considering this phenomenon, Vocational School UNS is committed to develop the school by upgrading the study programs from D3 to D4 gradually until 2023. We all hope that the plan can run smoothly and benefits all UNS stakeholders. Humas UNS
Reporter: Ida Fitriyah
Editor: Dwi Hastuti