Problem-based learning for future-ready skills development in vocational engineering higher education in Indonesia

Abstract Problem-Based Learning (PBL) may provide a means of integrating technical learning with future-ready skills in vocational engineering education, yet evidence from authentic practice-oriented engineering contexts remains limited. This study examined whether structured PBL was associated with greater improvements in students’ communication, collaboration, and metacognitive skills than conventional instruction in vocational engineering fabrication practice. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest nonequivalent control-group design was conducted with 204 students from three mechanical engineering programs at a public vocational higher education institution in Indonesia. Using purposive sampling, six intact classes were assigned to an experimental group (three classes, n = 102) receiving structured and facilitated PBL and a control group (three classes, n = 102) receiving conventional workshop instruction. Communication and collaboration were assessed using questionnaires, while metacognitive skills were assessed using a performance-based rubric before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using paired- and independent-samples t-tests and ANCOVA with pretest scores as covariates, together with standardized effect sizes and normalized gain scores. The PBL group demonstrated substantially greater improvements across all three outcomes, with adjusted between-group effects remaining large after controlling for baseline performance: metacognition, η² p = .32; collaboration, η² p = .30; and communication, η² p = .28 (all p < .001). The findings suggest that structured and facilitated PBL can provide an effective learning environment for embedding cognitive, social, and reflective dimensions of future-ready skill development within authentic engineering practice. The study contributes context-specific evidence from Indonesian vocational engineering higher education and highlights the importance of authentic problem solving, collaborative inquiry, reflective regulation, and instructional scaffolding in practice-oriented engineering learning.