Factors Influencing the Work Interest of Mechanical Engineering Program Students of a Vocational High School in Yogyakarta

This study aimed to investigate the effects of 1) self-competence, 2) social motivation, 3) labor market, 4) self-competence, social motivation, and labor market on the work interest of Vocational High School (VHS) students. This study employed the ex-post facto design with the regressional approach. The population in this study consisted of 306 students of Class XII of the mechanical engineering expertise program in a vocational high school in the city of Yogyakarta. The sample size was determined using Issac & Michael’s table. The participants of this study were 170 vocational high school students. The sample was collected using purposive sampling, and data were collected through a survey. The collected data were then analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis which was applied for hypothesis testing. The results of this study show that (1) self-competence has a positive and significant effect on work interest (effectiveness value = 48.6%, rcount = 0.697, and tcount = 12.602); (2) social motivation has a positive and significant effect on work interest (effectiveness value = 58%, rcount = 0.762, and tcount = 15.236; (3) job market has a positive and significant effect on the work interest (effectiveness value = 70%, rcount = 0.837, and tcount = 19.821), and (4) self-competence, social motivation, and labor market collectively have a significant effect on the work interest with a percentage of 73.1% and the calculated value of 0.855. The effective contribution value of the self-ability variable is 10%, the social motivation variable is 12.7%, and the labor market variable is 50.4%. The relative contribution of the self-competence variable is 13.5%, the social motivation variable is 17.4%, and the labor market variable is 69%.