The Mapping of Vocational School with Building Technical Drawing Concentration: Opportunities and Challenges in Construction Industry’s Needs

In the last five years, the vocational secondary school (SMK) graduates absorption in the industry has been steadily declining. One still remains issues is the incompatibility of graduate competence with the skills required by the industry. The construction industry is one of the industries that should absorb Building Construction graduates, but in reality shows, most of the skilled workers in the industry are not related to Building Construction major. This paper will deliberate a preliminary study on the mapping of the existence of Building Construction vocational secondary school. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent of public interest and the absorption of graduates in the construction industry particularly in a concentration of Building Technical Drawing in West Java. The study employed a survey and interview with 18 vocational high schools in West Java within the major of building Construction which opens that concentration. The result shows the public interest for vocational high school with a concentration of Building Technical Drawing has been increasing in comparison to other concentrations under the same major. This study also figures out that there is a misperception among the parents and the pupils that still occur about the selection of major relating to the employment opportunities in the industry. These preliminary results will lead to a more in-depth analysis of how conformity to the needs of the construction industry can be used as a basis for strengthening competence of the Vocational Secondary school in Building Engineering expertise program. Keywords—building technical drawing; construction industry; graduate competence; skilled workers; vocational education