Cho Hee-yeon "Increase in Vocational High School Field Training Participation... Actively Supporting Employment"

Announcement of Business Agreement with Korea Employers Federation and Korea Association of Mid-sized Enterprises
Plans to Visit Internship Sites to Encourage Students

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to actively respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation and carry out proactive activities to revitalize employment in vocational high schools.

Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon announced that from the 20th of this month to the 11th of next month, continuous meetings and business agreements with economic organizations will be promoted. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the participation rate of students in field training in September this year was 5.44% (712 students), an increase of 1 percentage point (71 students) compared to last year.

First, Superintendent Cho will visit the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises on the 21st and the Korea Employers Federation on the 27th to hold meetings. During these periods, discussions will be held to expand recruitment and cultivate talents required in the industrial field, and mutual business agreements between institutions will be signed for this purpose. On the 23rd, a video conference will be held with teachers in charge of employment at vocational high schools. They plan to listen to difficulties such as the operation status of field training and non-face-to-face employment guidance and communicate about areas needing support.

Since the second half of this year, as field training for vocational high school students has become full-scale, visits to companies where students are training and working are also planned. They will exchange opinions on working conditions and hold meetings to strengthen employment quality. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education intends to make further efforts to expand employment opportunities for vocational high schools and strengthen learning and employment capabilities.

Superintendent Cho said, "As of September, the participation rate of vocational high school field training under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has shown a somewhat encouraging increase compared to the same period last year," adding, "Based on this, in the second half of the year, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will continue to support vocational high school employment and focus on strengthening students' employment and career education."