Limited soft skills, understanding of personal talents, and career direction remain challenges for vocational high school students in preparing for their career development. This Community Service Program (PKM) aimed to enhance students’ soft skills, help them identify their personal talents, and develop the SMART CAREER MODEL as a talent- and soft skill-based career guidance model. The program was conducted at SMK Aljabar Batam, involving 59 students and one accompanying teacher from the student affairs division through assessment, talent mapping, soft skill training, career mentoring, evaluation, and career recommendations. The evaluation employed a 20-item instrument using a five-point scale, and the data were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that the average soft skill score increased from 3.06 to 3.75, representing a 22.55% improvement, exceeding the minimum target of 20%. The positive achievement in personal talent identification reached 83.90%, exceeding the minimum target of 80%. The program resulted in the SMART CAREER MODEL as a conceptual-applicative PKM output. The model provides a mentoring framework that integrates personal talent identification, soft skill development, evaluation, and career development recommendations for vocational high school students. As the evaluation was limited to short-term outcomes, continued mentoring and follow-up evaluation are recommended.

The utilization of digital technology in learning remains a challenge for non-formal education instructors, particularly in developing interactive learning media that can enhance student engagement. Rumah Belajar Alempureng, as the partner institution in this community service program, faced challenges related to the limited use of digital game-based learning media in the learning process. This community service activity aimed to improve instructors’ understanding of the Game-Based Learning concept, enhance their skills in utilizing Online Stopwatch as a game-based learning medium, and assist them in developing more creative, interactive, and engaging learning activities for students. The program was implemented using a participatory training approach through material delivery, demonstrations of Online Stopwatch features, hands-on practice, mentoring in educational game development, and evaluation through pre-test, post-test, and participant satisfaction questionnaires with 10 participants. The results showed an improvement in participants’ understanding and skills in utilizing Online Stopwatch as a Game-Based Learning medium. The pre-training evaluation showed an average score of 2.25 on a 5-point scale, whereas the post-training evaluation showed an average score of 4.25 on a 5.00-point scale, categorized as very good, while the overall participant satisfaction level reached 84.44%, also categorized as very good. Furthermore, participants were able to develop game-based learning activities by utilizing Online Stopwatch features. This activity contributes to the development of a Game Based Learning based mentoring model through the use of a simple digital technology the Online Stopwatch which can enhance teachers’ digital pedagogical competencies and be replicated to create more interactive, creative, and student-centered learning experiences.