From Graduation to Deck: A Tracer Study of Career Outcomes, Workforce Entry, and Tertiary Progression Among Maritime Vocational High School Alumni in Jakarta

Ihsan Ahda Tanjung; Derma Watty Sihombing; Mukhlas Hamdani; Nurindah Dwiyani

doi:10.55606/jubima.v4i2.4575

Authors

Ihsan Ahda Tanjung Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Pelayaran Jakarta
Derma Watty Sihombing Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Pelayaran Jakarta
Mukhlas Hamdani Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Pelayaran Jakarta
Nurindah Dwiyani Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Pelayaran Jakarta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55606/jubima.v4i2.4575

Keywords:

Career Outcomes, Maritime Workforce, Tracer Study, Vocational Identity, Workforce Entry

Abstract

Maritime vocational high schools serve as the earliest formal gateway into Indonesia's seafaring workforce, yet whether the identity trajectories, mentorship experiences, and institutional governance practices documented shortly after graduation actually predict downstream career outcomes has never been tested empirically. This study traces maritime vocational high school alumni from graduation through workforce entry, retention, and tertiary officer-track progression, examining whether pre-graduation vocational identity trajectory, mentorship quality during apprenticeship, and institutional curriculum governance practice predict measurable career outcomes years later. A qualitative, retrospective tracer study design was employed, drawing on semi-structured interviews and career-history documentation with 35 alumni three to seven years post-graduation, supplemented by 8 employer and human resource contacts and 5 tertiary maritime institution admissions staff. Thematic analysis, cohort-based cross-group comparison, and narrative synthesis identified four dominant findings: durable rather than transient identity consolidation among alumni reporting strong early mentorship, persistent skill gaps concentrated specifically in automated and digitally advanced shipboard environments, attenuating but not disappearing family-background influence on career persistence, and a measurable tertiary-progression gap between alumni whose schools exhibited tightly versus loosely coupled curriculum governance. Findings extend career construction and institutional linkage theory longitudinally and validate, for the first time, which upstream mechanisms actually predict Indonesian maritime vocational education's downstream workforce outcomes.

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