Amid the current dynamics of the labor market, employment opportunities have become a major focus, especially for final-year students and recent graduates. They are facing real challenges: racing against time, competing tightly, and dealing with the limited availability of jobs.

Indonesia is currently entering a demographic bonus era—a condition where the number of people in the productive age group increases significantly, while job growth struggles to keep pace. According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) as of February 2025, there are still around 7.28 million individuals who remain unemployed.

One of the government’s attempts to address this issue is the implementation of job fairs, such as "Bekasi Pasti Kerja 2025," organized by the Bekasi Regency Manpower Office. The event offered 2,500 job openings from 64 companies, yet the number of job seekers who attended—25,000 people—far exceeded expectations.

This stark contrast between the number of job vacancies and the number of applicants illustrates the limited availability of formal employment opportunities and simultaneously highlights that job fairs alone are not sufficient as a solution to employment problems.

The public’s enthusiasm for job fairs deserves appreciation, as it reflects an awareness of the importance of the working world. However, this situation calls for a more critical, thoughtful, and targeted approach from job seekers themselves.

In this context, universities play a strategic role in offering more sustainable options, particularly for students and fresh graduates. Higher education institutions are not merely repositories of knowledge or homes for intellectuals, but also facilitators of the future—serving as bridges between academic life and the professional world.

Universitas Dian Nusantara (UNDIRA) stands as a concrete example of such efforts. In a recent initiative to directly understand the media industry, students from UNDIRA’s Communication Studies program conducted a Company Visit to Metro TV.

Similar visits have also been made to PT PLN Indonesia Power and Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), providing students with the opportunity to interact directly with the working world. Moreover, UNDIRA’s Career and Alumni Development Office actively organizes programs that benefit both current students and alumni, as part of a strategic effort to bridge employment opportunities.

Activities such as CV and portfolio building tutorials, as well as Career Consult services—regularly conducted in collaboration with KINOBI and BISADAYA—demonstrate the university’s commitment to preparing students for their future in line with their interests and skills. Additionally, the Career and Alumni Office continues to establish partnerships with various companies to open up employment and internship opportunities through Campus Hiring programs, one of which was recently held in collaboration with PT Sutindo Raya Mulia and PT Mitra Pajakku.

Beyond that, UNDIRA has also engaged in cross-institutional collaborations, such as with the Trisakti Alumni Association (IKA Trisakti), to support more innovative career pathways, including entrepreneurship. Through alumni networks and external partnerships, students are encouraged to explore their full potential, such as through MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) development.

By becoming an active and adaptive mediator, universities can play a vital role in ensuring that their graduates are not only well-educated but also job-ready. Approaching job fairs critically does not mean rejecting them; rather, it means recognizing that long-term solutions lie in a collaborative, competency-based, and future-oriented transformation of higher education.