Upaya mengoptimalkan pelajar SMK menjadi tenaga kerja yang memiliki daya saing dapat dilakukan melalui berbagai cara, salah satunya melalui program pelatihan dan pengembangan karir yang ditujukan supaya siswa mampu memahami dan melihat realitas kehidupan dan kondisi kerja, mampu berinteraksi dengan rekan kerja, dan mampu menunjukkan sikap yang tepat ketika berada di lingkup kerja. Melalui program ini siswa diharapkan dapat membuat rencana kedepan untuk memenuhi persyaratan magang maupun melanjutkan studi di perguruan tinggi. Program pengembangan karir dilaksanakan melalui berbagai tahap yang dirancang berdasarkan kebutuhan siswa SMKN 2 Batu meliputi kegiatan ekspositori, orientasi, konseling kelompok, dan bimbingan kelompok. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa (1) pengetahuan siswa semakin luas tentang dunia kerja, bidang pekerjaan, studi lanjut, kompetensi, prospek dan kondisi kerja (2) siswa mampu memahami diri, bakat yang dimiliki, serta minat karir yang diinginkan (3) siswa mampu mengintegrasikan informasi pemahaman diri dengan informasi dunia kerja melalui kegiatan konseling kelompok maupun bimbingan kelompok dan memiliki dasar yang kuat dalam perencanaan karir (4) siswa memiliki komitmen untuk selalu melatih keterampilan berperilaku, mengontrol perasaan ketika didunia kerja. Hasil tersebut diperkuat dengan hasil pretest dan posttest angket kemampuan daya saing siswa SMK yang mengalami peningkatan sebesar 41,1 dari 87,14 menjadi 128,24. Kata kunci: daya saing, siswa SMK, pengembangan karir, kerja.Abstrak: Efforts to optimize vocational students to become a competitive workforce can be carried out in various ways, one of which is through training and career development programs aimed at enabling students to understand and see the realities of life and working conditions, be able to interact with colleagues, and be able to show good attitudes. right on the job. Through this program students are expected to be able to make future plans to fulfill internship requirements and continue their studies at tertiary institutions. The career development program is carried out through various stages designed based on the needs of SMKN 2 Batu students including expository activities, orientation, group counseling, and group guidance. The results show that (1) students' knowledge is broader about the world of work, fields of work, further studies, competencies, prospects and working conditions (2) students are able to understand themselves, their talents, and desired career interests (3) students are able to integrate information self-understanding with information about the world of work through group counseling and group guidance activities and having a strong basis in career planning (4) students have a commitment to always practice behavior skills, control their feelings when in the world of work. These results were reinforced by the results of the pretest and posttest questionnaire on the competitiveness of SMK students which increased by 41.1 from 87.14 to 128.24.