Economic Empowerment Strategy for Students and Alumni of Islamic Boarding School through the Community-Based Work Training Center

Edi Nur Prasetyo; Annisa Fitria Dian Soleha

doi:10.54518/art.10.1.2026.1133

Authors

Edi Nur Prasetyo Universitas Islam Balitar, Indonesia
Annisa Fitria Dian Soleha Universitas Islam Balitar, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54518/art.10.1.2026.1133

Keywords:

Community Vocational Training, Community Welfare, Economic Empowerment, Islamic Boarding School

Abstract

This study is grounded in the large number of Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia, which have not been fully matched by the economic readiness of their graduates to compete in the modern labor market. The community training center program emerges as a policy innovation that integrates vocational education with Islamic boarding school values. This study aims to analyze the strategies of economic empowerment of Islamic boarding schools graduates through the implementation of the Community Training Center Program and to examine its implications for their socio-economic welfare. A qualitative approach with a multi-site case study design was employed in two Islamic boarding schools in Blitar City. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentation. The findings reveal that both BLKKs implement asset-based planning, instructor capacity strengthening, sustainable facility management, learning-by-doing training methods, post-training mentoring, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and learning-oriented monitoring and evaluation. The program significantly improves alumni technical and non-technical skills, expands employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, and enhances income as well as multidimensional welfare. These findings imply that strengthening community-based vocational training in Islamic boarding schools can serve as an effective strategy for promoting sustainable economic empowerment and inclusive local development.

References

Ali, I., Anwar, M., & Sharmin, T. (2021). Job opportunities and obstacles of madrasah graduateS in Bangladesh. International Fellowship Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 1(1), 36-47. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4459964.

Amalia, D., Rif'ah, S., & Sa'idaturrohmah, N. (2024). Pemberdayaan ekonomi pesantren melalui One Pesantren One Product (OPOP) di Ponpes Kawasan Pantura Lamongan. Amalee: Indonesian Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 5(2), 677-693. https://doi.org/10.37680/amalee.v5i2.2426.

Anwari, A. M. (2022). The role of community service in improving educational character of students in a boarding school in Yogyakarta. Research Horizon, 2(1), 295-302. https://doi.org/10.54518/rh.2.1.2022.51.

Asai, N. A., Nor, S. F., & Asmiranti, N. (2024). Implementasi blended learning dalam pendidikan Islam. Indonesian Journal of Islamic Educational Review, 1(3), 208-215. https://doi.org/10.58230/ijier.v1i3.95.

Basuki, I., & Joko, J. (2022). The influence of continuous professional development on the vocational teachers’ competence to support the professional development of learner teachers. In International Joint Conference on Science and Engineering 2022 (IJCSE 2022) (pp. 92-103). Paris: Atlantis Press.

Becker, G. S. (1989). Human capital: a theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

BPS. (2023). Keadaan ketenagakerjaan Indonesia Februari 2023. Retrieved on January 15, 2026, from https://www.bps.go.id/publication/2023/05/05/53e815b4d0b2d1e455c4e2a9/keadaan-ketenagakerjaan-indonesia-februari-2023.html.

Chrisman, J. J., Hynes, T., & Fraser, S. (1995). Faculty entrepreneurship and economic development: The case of the University of Calgary. Journal of Business Venturing, 10(4), 267–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-9026(95)00015-Z.

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). London: Sage Publications.

Fauzi, A. (2017). Pengembangan Ekonomi Islam di Pesantren Jawa Timur. Al-Ulum, 17(1), 100-119. https://doi.org/10.30603/au.v17i1.30.

Gebhardt, E., Thomson, S., Ainley, J., & Hillman, K. (2019). What have we learned about gender differences in ICT?. In Gender differences in computer and information literacy: An in-depth analysis of data from ICILS (pp. 69-73). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26203-7_6.

Hidayat, A., Linando, J. A., & Ekasasi, S. R. (2018). The impact of university’s programs toward alumni perceived development (a case study in international program, Faculty of Economics, Islamic University of Indonesia). INOBIS: Jurnal Inovasi Bisnis dan Manajemen Indonesia, 1(4), 423–433. https://doi.org/10.31842/jurnal-inobis.v1i4.48.

Kabeer, N. (2017). Empowerment, citizenship and gender justice: A contribution to locally grounded theories of change in women’s lives. In Gender justice and development: Local and global (pp. 20-36). London: Routledge.

Khawrin, M. K., & Sahibzada, A. (2025). Public administration alumni and economic sufficiency: A case study of Nangarhar University. Kunduz University International Journal of Islamic Studies and Social Sciences, 7(4), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.71082/wy96bw40.

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., Swanson, R. A., & Robinson, P. A. (2020). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (9th ed.). London: Routledge.

Kurniawan, H., Ropi’ah, E. S., & Nugraha, A. (2023). Pengembangan ekonomi pesantren melalui pendekatan modal sosial masyarakat. AB-JOIEC: Al-Bahjah Journal of Islamic Economics, 1(1), 56-64. https://doi.org/10.61553/abjoiec.v1i1.24.

Madihah, H. (2020). Planning pemberdayaan alumni in the promotion of development campus (study of Islamic University alumni Kalimantan Muhammad Arsyad Al-Banjari Banjarmasin). Proceeding: Islamic University of Kalimantan. Banjarmasin: Universitas Islam Kalimantan Muhammad Arsyad Al Banjari Banjarmasin. https://dx.doi.org/10.31602/piuk.v1i1.4024.

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). New York: Sage Publications.

Minister of Manpower Regulation. (2017). Minister of Manpower Regulation Number 8 of 2017 concerning standards for job training centers.

Nisar, N., Nasruddin, E., & Goh, Y. N. (2023). Strategizing alumni to encounter financial sustainability issue: insights from public higher education institutions of Pakistan. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 15(2), 509-520. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-07-2021-0293.

Nor, A. R. M., Hamid, M. F. A., & Osman, K. A. B. (2021). Penerapan nilai kerohanian islam dalam perancangan kerjaya pelajar TVET: Embedding Islamic spiritual values in TVET students’ career planning. MANU Journal of Humanities, 32(2), 111-128. https://doi.org/10.51200/manu.v32i2.3614.

Nuraeni, Y., Absor, M. U., Mulyadi, M., & Aliyah, S. R. (2022). Peran Balai Latihan Kerja (BLK) komunitas dalam menyediakan tenaga kerja pada dunia usaha dan industri. Jurnal Ketenagakerjaan, 17(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.47198/naker.v17i1.124.

Pritadrajati, D. (2022). From school to work: Does vocational education improve labour market outcomes? An empirical analysis of Indonesia. Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, 25(3), 471-492. https://doi.org/10.21098/bemp.v25i3.1315.

Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. In Culture and politics: A reader (pp. 223-234). New York: Palgrave Macmillan US.

Rappaport, J. (1987). Terms of empowerment/exemplars of prevention: Toward a theory for community psychology. American journal of community psychology, 15(2), 121-148. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00919275.

Safiudin, E. S., Ma'mur, I., Firdaos, R., & Nugraha, E. (2024) Entrepreneurship educational management of islamic boarding school based on job community training centre in Indonesia. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 13(6), 743-757. https://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARPED/v13-i2/21428.

Sanrego, Y. D., & Taufik, M. (2016). Fiqih tamkin: Fiqih pemberdayaan. Paris: Qisthi Press.

Sudiapermana, E., & Muslikhah, M. (2020). The transformation of sustainable community empowerment based on islamic boarding schools system. Journal of Nonformal Education, 6(1), 36-43. https://doi.org/10.15294/jne.v6i1.23429.

Sutadji, E., & Hanafi, Y. (2025). Bridging religious education and workforce demands: evaluating vocational high schools in Islamic boarding school contexts. Journal of Applied Educational Study, 1(3), 6-18. https://doi.org/10.64460/jaes.v1i3.108.

Tamam, B., & Afif, A. (2022). Strategy analysis of pondok Islamic boarding school, Darul Ulum Banyuanyar, Pamekasan, in alumni economic empowerment (Case study of alumni economic empowerment through the toko bagus supermarket). LANGGAR: Journal of Social, Humanities, and Islamic Study, 1(2), 117-126.

Wahab, A. J. (2021). Islamic boarding school sebagai agen perubahan sosial dan ekonomi masyarakat. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 10(1), 89–110.

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). London: Sage Publications.

Zarkasyi, H. F. (2015). Modern pondok pesantren: Maintaining tradition in modern system. Tsaqafah, 11(2), 223-248. http://dx.doi.org/10.21111/tsaqafah.v11i2.267.