Work practice internships to improve competence and work readiness of vocational faculty students

The primary goal of vocational education is to produce graduates who are competent, adaptable, and ready to enter the workforce. In line with this objective, the Indonesian government introduced the Merdeka curriculum, which increased the credit weight of the work practice internship program from 2 credits to up to 20 credits. Despite its strategic importance, this expanded internship program has not been comprehensively evaluated, particularly in relation to students’ work readiness and professional competence. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of internship work experience on students’ competence development and readiness to enter the labor market. This research employed a quantitative approach with an ex post facto research design. The respondents consisted of students enrolled in vocational higher education institutions in Indonesia who had participated in internship programs. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire designed to measure internship experiences, competency attainment, and work readiness. The collected data were analyzed via descriptive statistical techniques and structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships among the variables. The results indicate that internship work experience has a significant positive effect on student competence and work readiness. Internship work practices were found to have a stronger influence on improving work readiness than on competence alone. These findings suggest that structured internships play a role in preparing vocational students for workplace demands. The study also highlights that the relevance of the internship location and alignment of assigned tasks with students’ study programs are essential in maximizing internship outcomes. Therefore, planning and collaboration between educational institutions and industry partners are necessary to ensure internship implementation.