Helping Vocational High School Students Work More Innovatively, Kemendikbudristek Encourages People To Buy Local Products

A number of local products are displayed in the 2022 Vocational Degree event/Via ANTARA

BANDUNG - The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) asked the public to make more use of domestic products. The goal is that vocational high schools (SMK) can create more innovative products.

Secretary of the Directorate General of Vocational Education Kemendikbudristek Wartanto said the use of domestic products is very important so that vocational schools and polytechnics can still produce products as needed.

Later, he said, competent Human Resources (HR) will appear because they are accustomed to making innovative products.

"Then schools will shift from theoretical to innovative, downstream products. That is called learning based on the needs of the industrial world and society," Wartanto said in his statement in Bandung, West Java, Antara, Friday, June 24.

According to him, the encouragement of vocational education institutions to continue to improvise and innovate products is felt to be useless if the products are not purchased. "The products are always idle, so in the end it is hoped that all of them will buy domestic products," he said.

In addition to improving the competence of human resources, he said, vocational schools and polytechnics will also get income from the products sold. In fact, they will also be able to improve the quality of their education.

"Now all schools or campuses are funded by the government. Even though there are great human resources, great technology, there are great facilities and infrastructure. If they are combined, the productivity will be high," he said.

Meanwhile, on Thursday (23/6) the Center for the Development of Quality Assurance for Vocational Education in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Sector (BBPPMPV BMTI) located in Cimahi City, West Java, held the 2022 Vocational Degree event.

The event was held to bring together the business world and the industrial world based on vocational schools. In this activity, various products made by SMK students were displayed, ranging from electronic devices to machines.

He also assessed that so far the quality of domestic products is not inferior to foreign products. Therefore, according to him, the use of domestic products must be carried out.

"Don't let us just be spectators and actually prosper other countries because we buy products. If we want to prosper Indonesia, buy domestic products. That's the most extraordinary ending," he said.