An Integrative Teaching Factory-Industry Model To Improve Communication Skills And Employability Skills Of Vocational High School Students
Abstract
Vocational high schools are expected to supply work-ready graduates, yet many programmes still struggle to translate technical competence into workplace performance, especially in communication-intensive tasks such as customer needs analysis, teamwork coordination, reporting, and quality-related documentation. Teaching Factory (TeFa) has been promoted in Indonesia as a production-based learning approach that simulates or delivers real industry orders within a school environment. However, TeFa initiatives frequently prioritise output volume and technical procedures, while employability skills are treated as implicit by-products rather than explicit learning targets that are taught, practiced, and assessed. This article proposes an Integrative Teaching Factory-Industry Model (iTeFIM) that embeds structured communication and employability competencies into the end-to-end TeFa production/service cycle, supported by governance, industry partnership mechanisms, and competency-based assessment. Using an integrative literature review, policy analysis, and design-synthesis methods, we develop a logic model, implementation roadmap, and assessment toolkit aligning (i) work-based learning principles, (ii) employability competency rubrics, and (iii) Indonesian vocational governance and TeFa policy directions. The model positions communication as a core operational capability across six learning-production stages: order intake, planning, execution, quality assurance, delivery, and after-sales reflection. We discuss design implications for school-industry collaboration, teacher and instructor roles, learning analytics, and continuous improvement using CIPP-informed monitoring. The article contributes a practical, assessment-ready framework that can be adapted across vocational programmes to strengthen graduates’ readiness for employment and career mobility
References
Azizah, A. N., Muslim, S., Achmad, I., & Lukmantoro, T. (2019). Management model of teaching factory in vocational high school. Indonesian Journal of Learning and Instructional (IJOLEC), 2(1), 1–12.
Billett, S. (2011). Vocational education: Purposes, traditions and prospects. Dordrecht: Springer.
Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Vokasi. (2025). Peraturan Direktur Jenderal Pendidikan Vokasi Nomor 30 Tahun 2025 tentang Petunjuk Teknis Bantuan Pemerintah Program Revitalisasi Satuan Pendidikan Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan. Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi.
Edge Foundation. (2025). Essential Skills Tracker 2025. London: Edge Foundation.
International Labour Organization. (2022). Work-based learning and the future of skills: Overview. Geneva: ILO.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mourtzis, D., Panopoulos, N., & Angelopoulos, J. (2023). A hybrid teaching factory model for the enhancement of advanced manufacturing education: A personalised Education 4.0 approach. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 36(5), 592–615.
OECD. (2018). The future of education and skills: Education 2030 (Position paper). Paris: OECD.
Pusat Standar dan Kebijakan Pendidikan. (2024). Penguatan “link and match” SMK dengan dunia kerja: Arah kebijakan dan strategi implementasi (Policy brief). Jakarta: Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi.
Raelin, J. A. (2008). Work-based learning: Bridging knowledge and action in the workplace. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sánchez-Ramírez, J. M., Íñigo-Mendoza, V., Marcano, B., & Romero-García, C. (2022). Design and validation of an assessment rubric of relevant competencies for employability. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 12(2), 426–439. https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.1397
Subekti, S., Barliana, M. S., Khoerunnisa, H., Dwiyanti, V., & Saripudin, S. (2019). The work-based learning model with teaching factory to increase the employability skills of vocational secondary school students. TVET@Asia, 13, 1–17.
Wahjusaputri, S., Nastiti, D., & Liu, Y. (2024). The hybridity teaching factory model based on school governance to improve the employability skills of vocational students. Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi, 14(1), 1–14.
World Economic Forum. (2025). The Future of Jobs Report 2025. Insight Report. Geneva: World Economic Forum.
Yoto, Qolik, A., Marsono, Q., & Romadin, M. (2024). Evaluation of teaching factory implementation in vocational schools using the CIPP model. Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi, 14(2), 1–15.
UNESCO-UNEVOC. (2019). Making work-based learning work: Towards sustainable apprenticeships and work-based learning. Bonn: UNESCO-UNEVOC.
Abele, E., Metternich, J., Tisch, M., Chryssolouris, G., Sihn, W., ElMaraghy, H., ... & Ranz, F. (2017). Learning factories for research and education in production engineering. Procedia CIRP, 54, 1–6.
Alvarez, M., & Smith, P. (2021). Assessing employability skills in vocational education: A systematic review of rubrics and performance assessments. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 73(4), 1–24.
Boud, D. (2020). Reframing assessment as sustainable. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(6), 1–14.
Cedefop. (2020). Empowering adults through upskilling and reskilling pathways. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Frankiewicz, B. (2019). Does higher education still prepare people for jobs? Harvard Business Review.
Fahrenbach, F. (2022). Digital and transversal competencies for employability in vocational education: A review. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 9(2), 1–25.
García-Valcárcel, A., Basilotta, V., & López, C. (2020). ICT competences and employability: A review of evidence. Education and Information Technologies, 25(4), 1–20.
González, M., & Wagenaar, R. (2020). Tuning educational structures in Europe: Competence-based learning and assessment. Bilbao: University of Deusto Press.
Guile, D., & Griffiths, T. (2001). Learning through work experience. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 113–131.
Holmes, L. (2013). Competing perspectives on graduate employability. In S. Jackson (Ed.), International perspectives on employability (pp. 25–45). London: Routledge.
Ibarra-Sáiz, M. S., & Rodríguez-Gómez, G. (2019). Assessment for learning and employability: A competency-based approach. Studies in Higher Education, 44(1), 1–15.
Jackson, D. (2016). Re-conceptualising graduate employability: The importance of pre-professional identity. Higher Education Research & Development, 35(5), 925–939.
Kumara, A., & Rahman, A. (2022). Teaching factory implementation challenges and success factors: Evidence from Indonesian vocational schools. Journal of Technical Education and Training, 14(3), 45–60.
Levin, H. M., & Schwartz, H. L. (2007). Educational vouchers and productivity: A review. Economics of Education Review, 26(1), 1–11.
Musset, P. (2019). Work-based learning in vocational education: A review. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 211.
Robles, M. M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 453–465.
Salazar-Gómez, E., Tobón, S., & Juárez-Hernández, L. G. (2018). Aiken’s V for content validity in competency assessment. Revista Espacios, 39(53), 1–10.
Tisch, M., Hertle, C., Abele, E., Metternich, J., & Tenberg, R. (2016). Learning factory design: A methodology for manufacturing education. Procedia CIRP, 54, 180–185.
UNESCO. (2021). Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education. Paris: UNESCO.
Van Loo, J., & Toolsema, L. (2005). The empirical determination of key skills for the labour market. Education Economics, 13(2), 207–221.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
European Commission. (2020). European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience. Brussels: European Commission.
Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21). (2019). Framework for 21st century learning definitions. Washington, DC: P21.
Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Yorke, M. (2006). Employability in higher education: What it is—what it is not. York: Higher Education Academy.
Zhao, Y., & Watterston, J. (2021). The changes we need: Education post COVID-19. Journal of Educational Change, 22(1), 3–12.
Brown, S. (2015). Learning, teaching and assessment in higher education: Global perspectives. London: Routledge.
Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional. (2018). Skills and employability in vocational training: Policy report. Madrid: MEFP.
Copyright (c) 2026 Eka Saraswati, Nurul Astuty Yensy B, Sudarwan Danim
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
DAWUH: Islamic Communication Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and acknowledge that the DAWUH: Islamic Communication Journal Natural Science is the first publisher, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
- Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and greater citation of published work.
