Work skills factor for mechanical engineering students in vocational high school

Abstract

Vocational education graduates are indicated as having a very low competence and cannot meet the expectations of the work requirement; it has an impact on a lower absorption of employment for vocational education regionally and nationally. In order to meet the needs of the job competence, vocational students should have good work skills. The purpose of this study was to determine the need for work skills consisting of soft skills and hard skills for vocational education students of mechanical engineering. This research was quantitative descriptive analysis conducted by using the Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) approach. The sample of the study consisted of 100 respondents, comprising of industry practitioners, vocational education practitioners, and relevant expert of vocational education in engineering. Based on the analysis, there are 27 items of soft skills and 67 items of hard skills recommended for employments for vocational students. Based on the analysis, the findings will be used as a reference for developing a lean-based learning model to improve the work skills of vocational students of mechanical engineering.