I’m Creating Learning Videos for Vocational Education. Here’s Why That’s Crucial.
Imagine this. You’re wrapping up a months-long project. Exhausted, but also relieved, because after endless revisions and iterations, your idea is finally approved and oh — it’s Friday the 25th. What would you do? If you were me, you would go and reward yourself with a trip to the nearest reflexologist. To your dismay, the massage therapist is so poorly trained that it leaves you with a pulled muscle.
What could have gone wrong?
There’s a huge mismatch issue in the Indonesian job market: while 85–90% of the workforce in demand are those in charge of executing tasks, very few tertiary graduates are prepared for such roles (Kompas, 22 October 2019). In fact, most tertiary graduates are prepared for professions as planners and thinkers. Unfortunately, these positions are, given the nature and state of Indonesian industry, in low demand.
One level below the tertiary education level is the secondary level, in which vocational schools (SMK) make up quite a significant proportion. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), there are 4.9 million SMK students, slightly more than the number of high school students. Even so, the situation among SMK graduates is similar to that of tertiary education:
a mismatch between skills and jobs persists.
This is evidenced by the high unemployment rate of 11.2% among SMK graduates in Indonesia, the highest across all educational levels (World Bank, 2019).
I remember exactly the sense of hesitation upon hearing that I will be in charge of the SMK project for my first assignment as a Management Associate. The hesitation arose not only because SMK is an uncharted territory for me, but also because I did not have a favorable impression on SMK itself. People sometimes disregard SMK and perceive them as a “secondary alternative” to high school. While it might be true that SMK students might fare worse than their high school counterparts on formal subjects like Physics or Math, it is a mistake in the first place to compare them based on their competencies on “common” subjects. After all, what is considered as common to one might not be common to the other.
I believe that human beings are incredibly diverse in their inherent abilities and talents and that it is our duty to find work that matches and stretches our ability.
The whole point of having a vocational education system is to develop people, semi-skilled or even high-skilled if possible, who will go on to fill up various occupations in order to support a growing economy like ours.
Technicians, administrators, massage therapists — you name it, we need it.
Over the course of the SMK project, I grew more and more convinced of the necessity of this project in making quality online courses for SMK students. Little did I know that prior to joining Ruangguru, my background as an economics major would enable me to see the bigger picture and draw a connection between my work and the society around me. I began to understand that what I do will hopefully help the students learn more about their respective competencies and subsequently earn a livelihood.
Of course, creating content aimed to serve 4.9 million students who are classified under literally hundreds of vocational streams is not an easy task. First of all, we have to always rely on data in order to make decisions. In such an ecosystem where such data might not be readily available, I often have to rely on help from others who are more experienced in the field.
Thankfully, in Ruangguru, there are always people who would willingly offer their help despite not being directly involved in your project.
All you have to do is share about the obstacles you’re facing so far and there will be someone volunteering themselves to help you out. I’ve experienced this myself: in the initial part of my project, nearly all of the Master Teachers involved in making videos for common high school subjects volunteered themselves. There was yet any teacher hired specifically for the SMK division.
However, I’ve also learnt through this project that collecting data alone is insufficient. Even if you have provided enough evidence that there is indeed a market for your product, oftentimes the way you present your data is as, if not more, important than the data itself. Present it in a convoluted manner and you’ll unlikely obtain the approval required to get the project going
Additionally, when you present a plan to the management level, it is always necessary that you provide several options. Not only will it show that you have thoroughly weighed the pros and cons of each option, but it will also ease those in the management position in making yet another business decision.
As of now, Ruangguru is still looking for talented individuals to fill our vacancies as Master Teacher for SMK. If you think the same way that I do, that online learning can be one of the ways to educate and upskill our youths, join our team and apply at bit.ly/MasterTeacherSMK. We have freelance opportunities too!
