Link and Match Problem of Vocational School Students on Unemployment Issues: A Comparative Study on Indonesia and Türkiye
Institute of Social Sciences, Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University
How they used Delve
A graduate researcher and an associate professor at Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University in Türkiye used Delve to organise and code interviews with 25 Indonesian vocational school graduates about why their schooling did not match the labour market, moving from open coding to axial coding into themes such as skill mismatch and institutional challenges.
“We also utilized the Delve tool to organize interview data, reducing complexity. To simplify the analysis, coded each interview result, assigning labels or codes based on common themes. [...] Using the advantages of Delve tool as QDA software enriched this study’s invivo coding options while observations for interviews were quantified.”
- Field
- Vocational education / youth unemployment
- Data
- Interviews with 25 Indonesian vocational school graduates, plus secondary data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and government reports on Indonesia's and Türkiye's education systems
- Approach
- Descriptive case study with a phenomenological framing; interviews coded in two stages, open coding then axial coding into themes, with in vivo coding, triangulated against BPS statistics and government reports, plus member checking
- Data types
- Interviews, Documents
Abstract
Indonesia faces significant challenges with unemployment due to its vast land area and large population, posing a threat to economic stability. Addressing the “Link and Match” problem, this research employs a qualitative approach to analyze unemployment among Indonesian vocational school graduates and includes a comparative study of Türkiye’s educational system. The methodology utilized is a descriptive case study. Primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 25 alumni from various generations across five Indonesian provinces. The findings reveal that graduates encounter significant skill mismatches and that the current educational infrastructure is insufficient to meet industrial needs. The study concludes that while vocational education is pivotal for reducing unemployment, its effectiveness is hindered by a disconnect between curriculum and labor market demands, a challenge also observed in the Turkish context. Consequently, the research recommends designing curricula that align with market demands, enforcing regulations for collaboration between educational institutions and businesses, and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset among youth to mitigate future unemployment.
Citation
Nuurin Hafizha Sugian Nor, Ufuk Bingöl (2026). Link and Match Problem of Vocational School Students on Unemployment Issues: A Comparative Study on Indonesia and Türkiye. Politik Ekonomik Kuram. https://doi.org/10.30586/pek.1618341