Kisah Para Pencari Kerja: Studi Mengenai Tantangan Para Pencari Kerja Lulusan SMK di Kabupaten Cilacap Stories of Job Seekers: A Study of the Challenges of SMK Graduate Job Seekers in Cilacap Regency
Article Sidebar
Page Numbers:
5003-5019
Digital Object Identifier:
10.58578/yasin.v6i4.11207
Viewed: 50 times
Downloaded: 31 times
LYAS Publisher cordially invites qualified professionals to serve as Editors or Reviewers. Your expertise will make an important contribution to maintaining and strengthening the academic quality of our publications. Interested applicants are kindly requested to complete the application form at the following link: Editors & Reviewers
Please feel free to contact us if you need any further information about the submission process or if you have any additional questions.
Authors:Rosyidah Andry AL-Fiyah1*, Tri Rini Widyastuti2, Soetji Lestari3
Copyright :Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication.
Main Article Content
Abstract
Vocational High Schools (SMK) are designed to produce vocational graduates who are ready to enter the workforce. However, in Cilacap Regency, known as an industrial area in Central Java, SMK graduates are precisely the largest contributors to open unemployment. This study aims to explore the subjective experiences of SMK graduates during their transition into the workforce, identify the barriers they face, and describe their survival strategies in coping with limited job opportunities. The research employs a descriptive qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. Primary data were obtained through in-depth interviews and observations, while secondary data were gathered from journals, references, and relevant documents. The research targets were job seekers who graduated from SMK and have been unemployed for more than one year, as well as officials from the Manpower and Industry Office of Cilacap Regency. Data analysis used the interactive analysis model by Miles and Huberman. The results indicate that SMK graduates face structural and social barriers, including a gap between the learning technology used in schools and the actual demands of the industry, low mastery of soft skills, withholding of graduation certificates due to administrative (financial) issues, the implementation of fixed-term employment contracts (PKWT), limited access to job vacancy information, and a shift in the function of friendship networks into paid job-brokerage practices that exploit personal connections ('insiders') as a means to secure employment. Facing these conditions, graduates develop various adaptive strategies, such as utilizing social media as a source of job vacancy information, independently participating in training and certification programs, and establishing micro-businesses, such as flower bouquet shops and *mendoan* (traditional fried tempeh) businesses. The findings of this study demonstrate that the transition of SMK graduates into the workforce is influenced not only by competence gaps but also by structural barriers in the labor market and shifting social relations among job seekers. This research contributes to the development of the sociology of education by showing that unemployment among SMK graduates is a multidimensional issue requiring the strengthening of competencies based on industry needs, modernization of practical facilities in schools, and soft skills development to ensure graduates align with industrial demands. Furthermore, it highlights the need for expanding access to job market information and strengthening entrepreneurship education as alternatives for the economic independence of graduates.
Citation Metrics:
Downloads
Citation Metrics & Similar Scopus Articles
-
Cardoso R.R.S. (2026)TO A METHODOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE COMPARATIVISM: FROM THE MODERN CONCEPT OF CONSTITUTION TO METHODOLOGICALLY LOOSE COMPARATIVISMRevista do Caap, 31(1), 1-25
-
Finkbeiner F. (2027)ARDF: An Advanced Robot Description File for Parallel RobotsMechanisms and Machine Science, 213, 551-560
-
Sapkota R. (2027)MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF PARA-PHEROMONE TRAPPED FRUIT FLIES IN CUCURBIT ECOSYSTEM DURING SPRING-AUTUMN IN NEPALIndian Journal of Entomology, 89(1), 172-177
Article Details
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
References
Badan Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Cilacap. (2025, September 3). Profil Ketenagakerjaan Kabupaten Cilacap Hasil Sakernas Agustus 2024. https://cilacapkab.bps.go.id/id/publication/2025/09/03/fb240c18c02c700e424ce58f/profil-ketenagakerjaan-kabupaten-cilacap-hasil-sakernas-agustus-2024.html
Budiani, I. S., Nadifa, A. A., Selvianne, S., Puspitasari, N. W., & Selfi, M. (2025). Dinamika Pengangguran Berdasarkan Pendidikan di Indonesia 2021–2024. Journal of Social Science and Multidisciplinary Analysis, 2(1), 60–76. https://doi.org/10.59827/jossama.v2i1.41
Fahmi, M. P. (2022). Analisis Faktor-Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Pengangguran Terdidik di Kota Pekanbaru. Ekopem: Jurnal Ekonomi Pembangunan, 4(4), 76–87. https://doi.org/10.32938/jep.v4i4.3049
Frisnoiry, S., Sihotang, H. M. W., Indri, N., & Munthe, T. (2024). Analisis Permasalahan Pengangguran di Indonesia. KOMPAK: Jurnal Ilmiah Komputerisasi Akuntansi, 17(1), 366–375. https://doi.org/10.51903/kompak.v17i1.1866
Hanifah, N., & Buchori, I. (2023). Peran Sektor Ekonomi dan Kependudukan dalam Pembangunan Wilayah Kabupaten Cilacap. Region: Jurnal Pembangunan Wilayah dan Perencanaan Partisipatif, 18(1), 225–240. https://doi.org/10.20961/region.v18i1.60013
Hidayati, K. (2023). Manajemen dan Peran Bursa Kerja Khusus dalam Pengenalan dan Pengembangan Karier Siswa di SMKN 2 Jiwan. Indonesian Journal of Learning and Instructional Innovation, 1(2), 20–27. https://doi.org/10.20961/ijolii.v1i02.1047
Ismunanda, M. A., & Amila M, H. (2025). Job Insecurity dan Prokrastinasi Kerja: Peran Mediasi Stres Psikologis pada Karyawan Kontrak. Arus Jurnal Psikologi dan Pendidikan, 4(3), 513–517. https://doi.org/10.57250/ajpp.v4i3.1771
Jenawi, B., Sujarwani, R., & Amira, S. (2022). Strategi Kebijakan Mengatasi Pengangguran Terbuka Lulusan Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK) di Kabupaten Bintan. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 4(1), 132–141. https://doi.org/10.56552/jisipol.v4i1.92
Kamila, A. N., Virnanda P, A., Syahfrina, C. P. A., Tigaprilarda, C. N., & Meydiano, C. A. (2025). Pendidikan Kejuruan dan Realita Pengangguran: Solusi untuk Masa Depan Lulusan SMK di Indonesia. Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi Raflesia, 5(2), 98–103. https://doi.org/10.53494/jpvr.v5i2.787
Kurniawan, R., Sari, D. R., & Yayuk, E. (2025). Peran Kewirausahaan Sekolah dalam Mengurangi Pengangguran Lulusan di SMKS Muhammadiyah 6 Rogojampi. Pendas: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Dasar, 10(4), 324–337. https://doi.org/10.23969/jp.v10i04.34884
Mahesa, N., Amelia, R. N., & Putri, T. S. (2025). Penegakan Hukum Ketenagakerjaan terhadap Eksploitasi Generasi Z dalam Kontrak Kerja Jangka Pendek (PKWT): Perspektif Keadilan Sosial. Journal of Information Systems and Management (JISMA), 4(6), 20–24. https://jisma.org/index.php/jisma/article/view/1235
Ma’rufiati, T., Habsya, C., Estriyanto, Y., & Siswandari, S. (2024). Analisis Peran dan Kesenjangan Eksistensi Bursa Kerja Khusus (BKK) dalam Menjebatani Lulusan SMK Memasuki Dunia Industri. JIIP: Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Pendidikan, 7(3), 3383–3390. https://doi.org/10.54371/jiip.v7i3.3670
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1992). Analisis Data Kualitatif: Buku Sumber tentang Metode-Metode Baru (T. R. Rohidi, Trans.). UI-Press.
Munthe, F., & Mataputun, Y. (2021). Analisis Kerjasama Sekolah dengan Dunia Usaha dan Dunia Industri dalam Meningkatkan Mutu Lulusan Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan. JPPI (Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Indonesia), 7(2), 312–319. https://doi.org/10.29210/020211156
Nur Aeni, I., Aditya, I., & Febriantin, K. (2025). Strategi Dinas Ketenagakerjaan dalam Mengelola Layanan Informasi Pasar Kerja di Kabupaten Bekasi. Moderat: Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Pemerintahan, 11(4), 1245–1273. https://doi.org/10.25157/moderat.v11i4.4885
Ohara, E., Harto, S. P., & Maruanaya, R. F. (2020). Policy shift to reduce unemployment of vocational school graduates in Indonesia: A national study. Jurnal Pendidikan Teknologi dan Kejuruan, 26(2), 129–139. https://doi.org/10.21831/jptk.v26i2.33144
Puspitasari, D. A., & Abdullah, M. N. A. (2024). Kontribusi Pendidikan dan Pengalaman Kerja Praktik terhadap Kesiapan Kerja Lulusan SMK. SABANA: Jurnal Sosiologi, Antropologi, dan Budaya Nusantara, 3(1), 60–65. https://doi.org/10.55123/sabana.v3i1.3292
Ramdani, H., Fauziah, R. A., Nur Aeni, S., & Abdullah, M. N. A. (2026). Pengangguran Lulusan SMA, SMK, dan Perguruan Tinggi di Indonesia dalam Era Bonus Demografi: Peluang yang Terabaikan atau Beban Demografi Baru? Arus Jurnal Sosial dan Humaniora, 6(1), 705–725. https://doi.org/10.57250/ajsh.v6i1.2412
Santoso PN, S., Tampubolon, E., Fernando S, J., & Bernadus, R. (2026). Dominasi Perjanjian Kerja Waktu Tertentu (PKWT) dan Outsourcing dalam Hubungan Kerja: Analisis Hukum Ketenagakerjaan sebagai Penyumbang Tingkat Pengangguran di Indonesia. Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat dan Riset Pendidikan, 4(4), 24577–24584. https://doi.org/10.31004/jerkin.v4i4.6124
Suherman, M., Soro, S. H., Ahmad, I., Ningsih, R. F., & Pawaka, W. (2024). Peran Pendidikan Vokasi dalam Melahirkan Wirausahawan (Studi Kasus Peserta Didik SMK Negeri 1 Cikalongkulon Kabupaten Cianjur). EDUKASIA: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran, 5(1), 2401–2410. https://doi.org/10.62775/edukasia.v5i1.1307