Empowering vocational school teachers: Sustainable chemistry an e-commerce training for enterpreneurship

Santo Paulus Industrial Chemistry Vocational School focuses on training in the fields of Industrial Chemistry and Medical Laboratory Technology. This training is very important to reduce the gap between school learning and industry needs. This gap is evident in laboratory activities that lack innovation, especially in the areas of product development, finance, and marketing. This reduces the readiness of graduates to work or become entrepreneurs. Schools need production units to bridge this gap by creating environmentally friendly chemical products, including aromatherapy candles, shoe cleaners, and beauty soaps. Environmentally friendly raw materials are a priority as a concrete effort to reduce chemical pollution from conventional products. This community service initiative aims to educate and support partners (students and teachers) in managing production, budgeting, sustainable product development, online bookkeeping, and e-commerce promotion. Students and teachers gain practical experience through accounting and e-commerce projects. The program includes partner selection, coordination, team management, training module development, training implementation, and evaluation. The results show that production units have been registered on e-commerce sites such as Shopee. Partners create innovative environmentally friendly products with improved packaging, pricing, and aroma. The manufacture of these products emphasizes the use of biodegradable and non-toxic materials, which directly contributes to the goal of reducing chemical contamination in the environment. Comprehensive financial record-keeping training is essential for improving decision-making. One outcome of this training is income that can help in acquiring better and safer production equipment. Students now focus on creating marketable products that provide clear environmental benefits, not just fulfilling academic obligations. Eight students are involved in production, with two overseeing record-keeping and marketing. The teaching factory is now beginning to address the real industrial environment.