Busy Government Providing Work-Learning Concurrent Experience... Over 1,400 Students from Specialized High Schools Employed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government, which has poured out job training development support policies in September, the Month of Vocational Competency, for vulnerable employment groups such as youth, is intensifying the provision of work-study parallel experience. Over three months, about 1,400 students from specialized high schools were provided with work-study parallel experience.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that from June to August, over three months, 1,403 students from 62 schools went through the apprenticeship preparation course (Job Market) and were employed by 730 companies. The Job Market program connects companies and employment starting from the second year of high school. These 1,403 students will engage in work-study parallel activities from this month, alternating between school and companies to learn theory and practical skills.

Students and companies share information in advance, visit companies, experience job duties, and conduct multi-to-multi interviews to understand each other's needs before gaining work-study parallel experience. In this Job Market, companies did not just review materials but held separate briefing sessions for students, and students created portfolios in addition to self-introduction letters to use in interviews.

The work-study parallel experience policy has been fully implemented since 2014. As of the end of July, about 17,000 learning companies and 110,000 learning workers participated. The Work-Study Parallel Act, created to stably support learning companies and protect learning workers, was enacted on August 27, 2019, and has been in effect since August 28 last year.

At the '2021 Work-Study Parallel Seminar' recently held by the Ministry of Employment and Labor together with the Human Resources Development Service of Korea and the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Hong Gwangpyo, Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, said, "To increase support for excellent talent, flexible operation plans tailored to company characteristics should be considered, and it should be highlighted as a key government manpower supply policy."