The Effect of The Apprenticeship Program on The Employer’s Intention to Hire SMK Graduates: As Seen in The Evidence in MM2100 Industrial Town, Bekasi

BPS data shows that Indonesia’s economic performance in 2022 has returned to pre-pandemic levels, above 5% YoY. This trend opens job opportunities for Indonesian, which positively contributes to lower unemployment from 6,49% to 5,86% in 2022 nationally. Bekasi Regency, the largest industrial area in Southeast Asia and a buffer zone for the capital city of DKI Jakarta, also experienced a declining unemployment trend from 2020 to 2021. However, the unemployment rate is increasing from 10,09% to 10,31% in 2022. The most significant contributor to unemployment comes from the graduates of Vocational High Schools (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan/SMK). The unemployed population from SMK reached 14,63% in 2022. To cope with this issue, the government, in cooperation with companies, actively absorbs labor from SMK graduates through apprenticeship programs. Once they complete the program, they will receive a completion certificate from the companies, and they will be able to be recruited directly as workers by companies that conduct apprenticeships. Therefore, this program plays a significant role in decreasing unemployment. Nevertheless, much controversy exists about the relationship between apprenticeship programs and managers’ intention to hire SMK graduates. This research would like to analyze how apprenticeship impacts the intention to hire SMK graduates. This paper is quantitative research with t 102 sampling of SMK graduates in the Bekasi area, using a non-probability purposive sampling method. The findings show that apprenticeship plays a critical role directly toward the intention to hire but is not significant as a moderating variable.