KKNI dan RUU PT: Angin Segar bagi Pendidikan Tinggi Vokasi

Oleh:

Dr. Ir. I Made Suarta, S.E., M.T.

Politeknik Negeri Bali

E-mail: i_md_suarta@yahoo.co.id

Pemerintah beberapa waktu yang lalu telah mengeluarkan Peraturan Presiden Nomor 8 Tahun 2012 tentang Kerangka Kualifikasi Nasional Indonesia (KKNI). Dan, pada hari ini Jumat 13 Juli 2012 DPR telah mensyahkan Undang Undang Pendidikan Tinggi (UU PT). Kedua peraturan perundang-undangan tersebut, memberikan angin segar bagi pengembangan pendidikan tinggi vokasi di Indonesia.

Kerangka Kualifikasi Nasional Indonesia

Kerangka Kualifikasi Nasional Indonesia, yang selanjutnya disingkat KKNI, adalah kerangka penjenjangan kualifikasi kompetensi yang dapat menyandingkan, menyetarakan, dan mengintegrasikan antara bidang pendidikan dan bidang pelatihan kerja serta pengalaman kerja dalam rangka pemberian pengakuan kompetensi kerja sesuai dengan struktur pekerjaan di berbagai sektor. Lahirnya KKNI tidak terlepas dari Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 31 Tahun 2006 tentang Sistem Pelatihan Kerja Nasional.

KKNI terdiri atas 9 (sembilan) jenjang kualifikasi, dimulai dari jenjang 1 (satu) sebagai jenjang terendah sampai dengan jenjang 9 (sembilan) sebagai jenjang tertinggi. Jenjang 1 sampai dengan jenjang 3 dikelompokkan dalam jabatan operator. Jenjang 4 sampai dengan jenjang 6 dikelompokkan dalam jabatan teknisi atau analis. Jenjang 7 sampai dengan jenjang 9 dikelompokkan dalam jabatan ahli. Setiap jenjang kualifikasi pada KKNI memiliki kesetaraan dengan capaian pembelajaran yang dihasilkan melalui pendidikan, pelatihan kerja atau pengalaman kerja.

Penyetaraan capaian pembelajaran yang dihasilkan melalui pendidikan dengan jenjang kualifikasi pada KKNI terdiri atas: (a) lulusan pendidikan dasar setara dengan jenjang 1; (b) lulusan pendidikan menengah paling rendah setara dengan jenjang 2; (c) lulusan Diploma 1 paling rendah setara dengan jenjang 3; (d) lulusan Diploma 2 paling rendah setara dengan jenjang 4; (e) lulusan Diploma 3 paling rendah setara dengan jenjang 5; (f) lulusan Diploma 4 atau Sarjana Terapan dan Sarjana paling rendah setara dengan jenjang 6; (g) lulusan Magister Terapan dan Magister paling rendah setara dengan jenjang 8; (h) lulusan Doktor Terapan dan Doktor setara dengan jenjang 9; (i) lulusan pendidikan profesi setara dengan jenjang 7 atau 8; dan (j) lulusan pendidikan spesialis setara dengan jenjang 8 atau 9.

Berlakunya KKNI memberikan implikasi pada adanya pengakuan setara di antara capaian pembelajaran yang diperoleh melalui pendidikan, pelatihan kerja, dan pengalaman kerja. Dengan kata lain, seorang lulusan SMA/SMK dapat diakui kualifikasi kerjanya setara dengan lulusan program diploma apabila yang bersangkutan telah mengikuti pelatihan kerja tingkat teknisi/analis. Selain itu, seseorang juga bisa diakui kualifikasi kerjanya berdasarkan pengalaman kerja dalam bidang profesi yang ditekuni, dibuktikan dengan sertifikat kompetensi kerja yang diterbitkan oleh lembaga sertifikasi profesi terakreditasi.

Dalam KKNI ini sudah diatur deskripsi umum dan deskripsi khusus untuk setiap jenjang kualifikasi. Hanya saja, deskriptor khusus yang ada masih bersifat generik dan belum spesifik untuk setiap bidang profesi. Karena itu, lembaga pendidikan tinggi perlu duduk bersama dengan asosiasi profesi dan dunia usaha/industri guna merumuskan deskriptor kerja yang spesifik yakni berupa atribut-atribut kemampuan kerja (employability attributes) yang perlu dimiliki seorang pekerja pada setiap jenjang kualifikasi sesuai bidang profesinya masing-masing.

Peran asosiasi profesi dan dunia usaha/industri dalam merumuskan atribut-atribut kemampuan kerja sangatlah strategis. Tidak dapat disangkal bahwa, tingginya angka pengangguran lulusan pendidikan tinggi saat ini tidak terlepas dari adanya kesenjangan antara kemampuan kerja yang dimiliki oleh lulusan dengan kriteria yang diharapkan oleh dunia usaha/industri. Kemampuan kerja (employability skills) menjadi isu yang sangat penting dalam beberapa tahun belakangan ini, sejalan dengan berkembangnya ekonomi berbasis pengetahuan. Adanya atribut-atribut kemampuan kerja baik berskala nasional maupun internasional, diharapkan mampu mendorong peningkatan mutu dan aksesibilitas sumberdaya manusia Indonesia ke pasar kerja nasional dan internasional.

Atribut-atribut kemampuan kerja untuk setiap bidang profesi pada setiap jenjang kualifikasi kerja dapat dijadikan landasan dalam menyandingkan, menyetarakan, dan mengintegrasikan antara bidang pendidikan, bidang pelatihan kerja, serta pengalaman kerja dalam rangka pemberian pengakuan kompetensi kerja secara nasional. Ke depannya, KKNI diharapkan dapat menjadi jembatan antara sektor pendidikan dan pelatihan untuk membentuk Sumber Daya Manusia (SDM) nasional berkualitas dan bersertifikat melalui skema pendidikan formal, nonformal, informal, pelatihan kerja atau pengalaman kerja.

Pendidikan Vokasi dalam RUU PT

Istilah pendidikan vokasi di Indonesia digunakan secara luas setelah tercantum dalam Undang Undang Nomor 20 tahun 2003 tentang Sistem Pendidikan Nasional. Pendidikan vokasi merupakan pendidikan tinggi yang mempersiapkan peserta didik untuk memiliki pekerjaan dengan keahlian terapan tertentu maksimal setara dengan program sarjana. Saat ini, pendidikan vokasi dilaksanakan oleh perguruan tinggi dalam bentuk Program Diploma, mulai dari Diploma I hingga Diploma IV atau Sarjana Terapan. Politeknik sebagai sub-sistem pendidikan tinggi diberikan tugas oleh pemerintah untuk menyelenggarakan pendidikan vokasi dalam sejumlah bidang pengetahuan khusus.

Pendidikan tinggi vokasi identik dengan pendidikan di politeknik. Selama ini, politeknik menawarkan pendidikan tinggi vokasi hingga jenjang diploma empat (D-4) atau sarjana terapan yang sama dengan S-1 pada jalur pendidikan akademik. Melalui Undang Undang Pendidikan Tinggi (UU PT) yang rancangannya sedang dibahas di DPR, nantinya pendidikan tinggi vokasi atau politeknik di Indonesia diberi peluang untuk membuka layanan pendidikan pada jenjang magister terapan (S2 Terapan) dan doktor terapan (S3 Terapan). Dibukanya peluang ini tidak terlepas dari diberlakukannya KKNI, yang didalammnya mengatur kualifikasi kerja untuk lulusan sarjana terapan, magister terapan, dan doktor terapan.

Keberadaan Kerangka Kualifikasi Nasional Indonesia (KKNI) dan Rancangan Undang-Undang Perguruan Tinggi (RUU PT) memberikan angin segar bagi pengembangan pendidikan tinggi vokasi di Indonesia. Lahirnya UU PT akan menjadi momentum bagi pengembangan pendidikan tinggi vokasi di Indonesia. Dengan demikian, politeknik nantinya tidak hanya menyelenggarakan pendidikan jenjang diploma, tetapi dimungkinkan untuk menyelenggarakan pendidikan jenjang S2 dan S3 Terapan.

Sebagai penyelanggara pendidikan terapan, politeknik sangat diharapkan untuk tetap “on the track”, yakni menyelenggarakan pendidikan yang bertujuan mempersiapkan peserta didik agar memiliki keahlian terapan tertentu sesuai profesi yang akan ditekuni. Konsep pendidikan S2 Terapan dan S3 Terapan yang akan diselenggarakan di politeknik haruslah dirancang dalam konteks untuk menyiapkan lulusan agar mempunyai keahlian terapan yang setara dengan jenjang 8 dan 9 dalam KKNI.

Model pendidikan S2 dan S3 Terapan dalam sistem pendidikan di Indonesia masih berevolusi dan mencari bentuk. Di beberapa negara maju, model pendidikan S2 dan S3 Terapan sudah berkembang. Istilah dan terminologi yang digunakannya pun berbeda-beda. Ada yang menggunakan istilah “Master Applied”, “Master Vocational”, “Master Professional” yang diikuti dengan sebutan bidang profesi yang ditekuni. Walaupun dengan istilah yang berbeda, namun tujuannya hampir sama yakni menyiapkan lulusan untuk memiliki keterampilan kompetensi tertentu dengan didukung kemampuan teoritis dan analisis. Dengan model seperti ini, pendidikan S2 dan S3 Terapan yang diselenggarakan di Politeknik akan sangat berbeda dengan pendidikan S2 dan S3 pada umumnya yang lebih menekan kepada konsep teoritis. Model pendidikan terapan seperti ini sangat cocok untuk mereka yang berkarir di industri, selain memiliki keterampilan dengan kompetensi tinggi juga didukung oleh kemampuan teoritis dan analisis. Kemampuan teoritis diperlukan untuk mengembangkan praktek profesionalnya melalui riset. Sementara kemampuan analisis diperlukan untuk memecahkan permasalahan praktek profesionalnya melalui pendekatan inter atau multidisipliner. 

(Penulis, Doktor dalam Bidang Pendidikan Vokasi, Dosen di Politeknik Negeri Bali).

Competency Based Approach to TVET Institutions

The TVET is non-academic technical study and / or practical training that develop the skills and knowledge of technical employees and trainees working in different sectors of industry and TVET Institutions. The TVET is the part of the education system that rovides courses and training programmes related to employment. It is applied to training and development of students attending vocational institutes as well as those who dropout from secondary schools.

The TVET is best applied when industrial enterprises and vocational education institutions give full attention to the performance of the employees and students (trainees) by applying both Competency Based Technical and Vocational Education and Training TVET as well as Competency Based Employees Assessment and Assurance Quality Management Systems. These systems are applied by the management of different sectors of industry and TVET Insinuations with a view to have reasonable assurance of meeting their business objectives by assuring that their employees and students (trainees) are well trained, assessed verified and proved to be competent.

Taking consideration of the above, we should stress that technical vocational schools are applying Competency Based Training CBT, Competency Assurance Quality Management System CAMS to provide guidelines that will enable management to set valid and reliable controls in place to ensure students are trained, assessed and competent and that they can discharge their responsibilities in a safe and effective manner when joining work locations.

A student in a formal school is studying subjects scheduled to last during one year. Because the progression through the various subjects in the school is time-based, at any given time during the year the teacher is expected to be at a specific point in the textbook or course content. While not every student may progress at the same rate, the schedule typically requires everyone to move at the same rate as the teacher. Tests
(Assessments) in formal schools are administered periodically to ensure students understand the concepts and principles. Test scores often are compared to determine the grades of the students. Unfortunately, when a student does not do well on a test (assessment) there often is little time for individual assistance as the teacher / instructor must move on in order to adhere to the established time schedule.  While traditional, time-based approaches to education have met with varying levels of success over the years, it is an ineffective system when the goal is to train individuals to perform specific, job-related skills at work locations (On-the-Job Training OJT / In-Service Training) under TVET.

For example, will a Fitter student / trainee, attending the full course in a technical vocational school to learn how to operate, maintain and repair a certain pump,  can effectively maintain and repair such machinery on site (at work location)? Of course not! If the Fitter is unable to attend part of the course; does this mean he can not maintain and repair the pump? Probably not. If the Fitter does poorly on a written test (assessment) conducted during the course, should he immediately fail the full course or
should his gaps identified, a ‘Specific Elimination Programme’ developed and the Fitter is re-trained, and re-assessed with a view to eliminate his identified gaps. If the Fitter can pass all written assessments (tests), does this indicate that he can operate, maintain and repair the pump? Of course no, as the Fitter has to demonstrate his awareness, knowledge, skills and mastery at work location (Observation) and not only through
written tests (assessment) and he has to provide evidences that he acquired the required competence(S) at the required competency level (standard). Do the tests (assessments) have to be administered periodically to ensure vocational students understand the concepts and principles? Of course not! The tests (assessments) are carried out on continuous basis and the students are assessed when a certain task or group of tasks are completed.

Obviously, the time-based educational system used in educational schools is not appropriate when conducting TVET. A more appropriate approach is Competency Based Training CBT and which is performance-based.

In a traditional school educational system, the unit of progression is time and it is teacher-centered. In a CBT system, the unit of progression is the performance and acquiring of specific competencies at awareness, knowledge, skills and mastery level (standard) and it is trainee-centered.

The traditional schooling bench marking and grading system is suitably applied only for the Basic Training I.e. Of-the-Job Training through modular courses / curriculum.

For the On-the-Job Training OJT in technical vocational schools, we should use the above continuous assessment. Such above Fitter student / trainee who passes a certain OJT task is considered to be “Competent”. If the Fitter does not pass, he is “Not Yet Competent” and his gaps have to be identified, a Specific Gap Elimination Programme is to be developed and he is to be re-trained and re-assessed. We can set a criteria for how many times the trainee can fail and be re-trained.

Finally it is very essential that industrial enterprises take part of the responsibility as custodian of training, not only from the time the fresh graduated students join the enterprise, but from the time they start their TVET in the vocational institutions in what we all know as Dual TVET i.e. students study few days of the week in the educational institution (Basic Training) and remaining days in the enterprise (OJT).

by Moustafa Wahba

Competency Assurance & TVET Consultant

UNESCO-UNEVOC e-Forum, http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/e-forum, March 3, 2010.

Assessment & Verification Procedures

One of the impressive methodologies used for Assessment & Verification in
Competency Based Training (CBT) is the one I prefer to use and which, in
brief, depends on the establishment of:

A.      Competency Assurance Management System CAMS

1. The purpose of the Competency Assurance Management System CAMS is to
   provide guidelines that will enable the management of Enterprises and TVET
   Institutions to set valid and reliable controls in place with a view to
   have reasonable assurance that their workers / trainees / students are well
   trained, assessed, verified, proved to be competent and provide Evidences
   hat they can effectively perform all tasks assigned to them, including HSEP
   (OHSP) and business critical tasks, up to the Minimum Competency Level
   (Standard) required at Work Location.
2. The HSEP stands for Health, Safety & Environmental Protection while
   OHSP stands for Occupational Health, Safety & Environmental Protection.

B.      Competency Development Framework CDF and Evidence Sources

1.          The assessment process generally uses different levels of rating
criteria with specified competencies. The Competency Assurance Management
System CAMS, in general, uses the following four levels of rating criteria:
Awareness, Knowledge, Skill & Mastery.

2.          The Competency Development Framework CDF is the vital reference for
competencies against which employees within a professional area of
employment will be judging their level of competence.  It is an Assessment
Document used to record ratings (Awareness, Knowledge, Skill and Mastery)
decided during the assessment process.

3.          In the CDF, different levels of assessment and verification are
generally used in which various Evidences from individual own work are
provided as essential requirement to support the assessments. While the
worker / trainee / student is in the course of carrying particular
activities, he / she generally utilizes three Evidence Sources;
Observations, Produces & Questions.

C.      Personal Development Plan PDP

1. A Personal Development Plan PDP has to be prepared at the beginning of
   each development assignment for the trainee / student in the CAMS program.
2. Updates to the PDP are to be prepared whenever the trainee / student is
   assessed and progresses to the next stage of his / her development.

D.     Minimum Assessment & Verification Standard Processes

1.         The successful implementation of the CAMS requires a supporting
framework of Assessment & Verification Procedures. These procedures are
based on “Minimum Assessment & Verification Standard Processes”.

2.         A 4 levels assessment and verification system generally consists of the
following separate two assessment levels and two verification levels:

·        Level 1: Self-Assessment

·        Level 2: One-on-one Assessment

·        Level 3: One-on-one Verification

·        Level 4: Committee Interview Verification

by Moustafa Wahba

Competency Assurance & TVET Consultant

UNESCO-UNEVOC e-Forum, http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/e-forum, February 10, 2010.

What's TVET

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge and skills for the world of work. Throughout the course of history, various terms have been used to describe elements of the field that are now conceived as comprising TVET. These include: Apprenticeship Training, Vocational Education, Technical Education, Technical-Vocational Education (TVE), Occupational Education (OE), Vocational Education and Training (VET), Professional and Vocational Education (PVE), Career and Technical Education (CTE), Workforce Education (WE), Workplace Education (WE), etc. Several of these terms are commonly used in specific geographic areas.