Ministry of SMEs Expands 'Small Business Technical Officer' Program... Cultivating Elite Talent in Advanced Industries

Jungjingong, Korea Council for College Education, and Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training Sign Tripartite Agreement
Plan to Actively Cooperate to Foster Elite Technical Officers in Public and Private Sectors

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Minjae] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 6th that it plans to significantly expand the SME Technical Officer program, focusing on advanced industries that are experiencing difficulties in workforce supply and demand.

The Technical Officer program is a program that cultivates on-site technical personnel through linked education (4 years) by forming a specialized high school (2 years) + junior college (2 years) + SME business group.

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital economy rapidly advance, advanced industries have emerged as the future industrial food source of Korea, but SMEs are actually complaining about a shortage of workers on site.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to continuously expand the Technical Officer program (10 business groups in 2022) focusing on advanced industries to cultivate excellent on-site technical personnel desired by SMEs.

On this day, the Ministry listened to the opinions of participating universities and SME representatives of the Technical Officer program and delivered the SME Technical Officer nameplates to the participating universities this year.

The Small and Medium Business Corporation, the Korea Council for College Education, and the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training signed a business agreement. They agreed to actively cooperate in forming a Technical Officer council, discovering Technical Officer business groups in advanced industries such as semiconductors, and developing curricula and policies to foster excellent Technical Officers.

A representative of an SME attending the meeting said, "It has recently become difficult to find personnel, and new employees require more than six months of training," adding, "The Technical Officer program provides customized talent, so I hope it will be further activated in the future."

Hwang Bongseong, president of ChungKang College of Cultural Industries, said, "Junior colleges have been striving to foster Technical Officers as the bastion of vocational education, and in the future, we will closely respond to industrial demand by cooperating with specialized high schools, focusing on advanced industries."

Kim Hakdo, director of the Small and Medium Business Corporation, said, "We will cooperate with related organizations to cultivate excellent technical personnel in new industries and new technologies and actively support Technical Officer graduates to find employment in decent SMEs."

Jang Daegyo, Director of the Technology Innovation Policy Bureau at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "With the establishment of a cooperative governance with vocational education professional organizations such as the Korea Council for College Education, we expect to cultivate elite Technical Officers needed in advanced industries such as semiconductors," adding, "The Ministry will support the private sector-led cultivation of personnel needed by SMEs."