Microsoft and Plan Indonesia Collaborate to Enhance AI Skills for Vocational School Teachers and Students in NTT

Jakarta, INTI – The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is expected to significantly benefit the Indonesian community, including educators and students at Vocational High Schools (SMK) in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). With rapid technological progress, teachers and students are expected to utilize Generative AI to better compete in the job market, especially amidst competition with 149.38 million other national labor force (BPS, 2024).

Yayasan Plan International Indonesia (Plan Indonesia) recently held a Training of Trainers (ToT) session attended by 80 vocational school teachers from Kupang City, Lembata Regency, South Central Timor Regency, Nagekeo Regency, and Manggarai Regency, both online and offline, on Thursday (18/07/2024). This activity is part of Plan Indonesia’s employment and entrepreneurship program, AI TEACH, fully supported by Microsoft.

Dini Arifah, AI TEACH Project Manager at Plan Indonesia, explained that this ToT is a continuation of Plan Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to increase the access of NTT residents to digital employment opportunities. “As an organization that has been working in NTT, our primary working area, for over 50 years, Plan Indonesia hopes to use this opportunity to enhance the skills of teachers and the job readiness of vocational school students in NTT. The goal is for them to be able to compete in the era of digital industry 4.0,” said Dini at the ToT opening in Kupang, Thursday (18/07/2024).

This AI TEACH ToT event was organized in collaboration between Plan Indonesia and the NTT Education and Culture Office. Both institutions aim to reach 1,000 vocational school teachers through tiered training (cascading) and approximately 60,000 vocational school students in NTT by the end of 2024.

Ambrosius Kodo, Head of the NTT Education and Culture Office, welcomed Plan Indonesia's initiative to advance the quality of education in NTT, especially to reduce the open unemployment rate in NTT, which reached 3.17 percent in 2024.

“We are certainly given the intelligence and space to utilize technology well, especially for the advancement of the education sector in NTT. With AI, everything will become easier. Educators and students must truly understand how to utilize AI for knowledge and career advancement, rather than seeing it as a threat,” said Ambrosius.

Meanwhile, Supahrat Juramongkol, Microsoft ASEAN Philanthropies Lead, said, “In line with Microsoft’s mission to empower every individual and organization on the planet to achieve more, we are pleased to accelerate the implementation of the AI TEACH program with Plan Indonesia. Through the AI Generative Toolkit we have prepared, we hope not only to enhance career and educational opportunities for participants but also to help equalize access to digital education and drive inclusive digital economic growth in NTT.”

The learning topics provided through AI TEACH include Generative AI skills in education, soft skills (job readiness), basic digital skills, gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), and awareness of risky behaviors. All training is accessed through the AI Generative Toolkit module available on Plan Indonesia’s learning platform kitakerja.id, complemented with additional materials on the LinkedIn Learning platform.

In addition to providing initial training to 80 teachers who will become trainers in NTT, the AI TEACH program by Plan Indonesia and Microsoft also aims to reach 5,000 vocational school educators who will train 300,000 vocational school students nationwide. Educators will also assist at least 60,000 students in obtaining completion certification from Microsoft and LinkedIn by the end of December 2024.

For more innovation in technology and cybersecurity, Microsoft and its partners will participate in the Indonesia Technology and Innovation 2024 (INTI 2024) at JI-EXPO on August 12-14, 2024. INTI is the largest technology and innovation exhibition in Indonesia, showcasing the latest solutions in technology and cybersecurity. More information can be accessed at https://inti.asia.