Jakarta. The government, through the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education Agency (LPDP), is preparing to build an integrated national talent pool database to better connect graduates, research output, and industry needs in a sustained manner.

The initiative aims to align workforce skills with industrial demand by creating a single, centralized source of data on available talent. Industries will be able to access the database directly to identify and recruit suitable candidates.

“Information will be consolidated so industries that need talent can simply look at the talent pool database. This means optimizing graduates registered in the database so they can truly be absorbed by industry,” Acting President Director of LPDP Sudarto said during a media briefing at the Finance Ministry office on Wednesday evening.

To support the initiative, LPDP will adjust its scholarship funding to ensure universities and fields of study align with workforce requirements in eight national strategic industries: energy, defense, digitalization, downstream processing, health, food, maritime, and advanced materials.

“For 2026, we are revising both the universities and majors to better support the preparation of human resources in the eight strategic industries, plus entrepreneurship,” Sudarto said.

Previously, there were concerns that many LPDP awardees struggled to secure jobs in Indonesia after completing their studies. A mismatch between academic backgrounds and domestic industry demand has highlighted the need for closer alignment between education funding and labor market needs.

In this context, the planned national talent pool is expected to function as both a centralized workforce database and a reintegration platform for returning scholars, helping reduce skill gaps and improve absorption into strategic industries.

The move reinforces LPDP’s transition from an access-focused scheme to an impact-driven model, ensuring state-funded education contributes directly to national competitiveness.

In line with Presidential Regulation No. 111/2021, LPDP has shifted its policy approach from focusing primarily on access to education toward an impact-oriented model. The transformation underscores a broader mandate to ensure publicly funded talent contributes directly to innovation and national competitiveness.

“We are moving from simply providing access to education to impact-driven programs. The talents we fund must drive innovation and enhance Indonesia’s competitiveness,” Sudarto said.

Going forward, scholarships will prioritize science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related programs to support the strategic sectors.

“We are focusing majors to support the preparation of the eight strategic industries. In other words, the focus is on STEM,” Sudarto added.

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