Ministry of SMEs Selects 18 New Specialized Vocational High Schools... "Supporting Resolution of Workforce Shortage"

Selected Schools Focus on Workforce Training Programs Reflecting Field Demand
Approximately 150 Million KRW Support for Customized Program Development and Operation

Specialized High School Job Experience. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] On the 17th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it has newly selected 18 specialized high schools for SMEs that operate customized training programs through industry-academia agreements to support small and medium-sized enterprises struggling to secure on-site personnel.

The SME Specialized High School Workforce Development Project is a government ministry-linked specialized high school support program started by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in 2008. It supports customized education, on-site training, and SME understanding training at specialized high schools so that SMEs can hire high school graduates and immediately deploy them on-site.

This new selection was the result of an evaluation of 21 schools nationwide that newly wished to participate in the project among 462 specialized high schools. The 18 selected schools include 5 in the industrial field and 13 in the non-industrial field, located in Seoul (1), Busan (3), Incheon (2), Daejeon (1), Gyeonggi (4), Chungbuk (2), Chungnam (1), Jeonbuk (2), Gyeongbuk (1), and Gyeongnam (1).

The designated schools are required to operate the Employment-Industry Customized Class program, which conducts customized education through three-party or two-party employment agreements with SMEs. Last year, the employment rate of students participating in the customized classes was high at 68.8%. The designated schools receive annual support of approximately 100 million to 150 million KRW to develop and operate customized programs. They also receive consulting support for curriculum development through advisory institutions.

Additionally, companies participating in the employment customized classes that have signed three-party agreements among schools, students, and companies contribute to alleviating career interruption issues caused by male students’ military enlistment by being selected as designated companies for industrial technical personnel military service and receiving preferential allocation of active-duty personnel.

Won Youngjun, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “We expect to alleviate the shortage of on-site personnel in the manufacturing and service sectors of SMEs by expanding the operation of SME specialized high schools,” adding, “We plan to further strengthen digital competency education in new technology fields such as artificial intelligence and information and communication technology convergence in the future.”