Starbucks to Hire 73 Prospective Graduates from Specialized High Schools

Starbucks recruiters are conducting online job interviews with specialized high school students who applied for the Starbucks barista position at the interview site located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in December last year. Photo by Starbucks

Starbucks Korea announced on the 2nd that it has hired 73 students who are expected to graduate from specialized high schools through a youth career education and employment linkage program conducted last year in collaboration with JA (Junior Achievement), an international NGO organization for educational donation.

Since 2015, Starbucks has been running a youth career education program in partnership with JA for eight years, helping students about to graduate from specialized high schools to enter society. Starbucks partners who have completed the training course provide skill enhancement education such as presentations, mock interviews, and relationship-building techniques to these students, and support their employment as baristas by connecting those who wish to apply.

Since 2015, a total of 346 individuals have started their dream of becoming Starbucks baristas through the JA program, among whom 33 have been promoted to store manager positions.

To date, about 20,000 students from approximately 240 specialized high schools nationwide have participated in Starbucks’ career education program, and over 1,800 Starbucks partners have completed the training course and participated in talent donation activities as employment mentors. Over the past eight years, Starbucks has donated 460 million KRW from the Starbucks Foundation to JA to support the healthy growth of youth as members of society.

Kim Minji, a partner who joined through the JA program and currently works as a supervisor at the Sangam Digital Cube store, said, "While preparing for employment during my time at a specialized high school, the JA career education helped me develop various skills and became a really great opportunity leading to my hiring at Starbucks. Since I started my social career earlier than others, I will strive to grow as a coffee expert while pursuing even bigger dreams."

Meanwhile, Starbucks is accepting applications for open barista recruitment until the 6th. Applications can be submitted through the Shinsegae Group recruitment website, and only those who pass the document screening will proceed to the interview stage and offline introductory training, with employment starting next month.