Starting Next Year, 'High School Graduate SW Talent' Program Launches for 'Equal Opportunity'
Supporting High School Graduates' Employment in Large Corporations, Finance, and Startups
1,600 Hours of Free Education per Year... Cumulative Employment Rate 83%
Opportunities for high school graduates to join Samsung, LG, and the five major banks (Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup) are set to expand. This is because Samsung has decided to extend the eligibility for its flagship employment education program, the Samsung Youth SW Academy (SSAFY), from unemployed university graduates to unemployed high school graduates starting next year.
'Samsung Youth SW Academy (SSAFY) Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Campus' 10th batch trainees are taking a commemorative photo ahead of their graduation ceremony. [Photo by Samsung Electronics]
Samsung announced on the 25th that from the 13th SSAFY cohort, which will recruit in October, it will accept not only university graduates but also unemployed Meister High School graduates as SSAFY trainees. The 13th cohort training will begin in January next year at the Seoul campus. The program runs free of charge for 1,600 hours over one year, with trainees attending eight hours daily. All trainees receive a monthly education support stipend of 1 million KRW. Continuous support is provided through job fairs, company briefings, career counseling via the employment support center, interview consulting, and job information provision. Software development staff from Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDS, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDI, Samsung Display, and S-1 also participate as mentors.
Samsung explained that it decided to accept high school graduates to expand youth education opportunities and contribute to reducing social disparities. It expects this to not only strengthen the employment competitiveness of Meister High School graduates but also significantly alleviate the shortage of software personnel in the industrial field. The number of selected trainees will be determined considering the demands from educational sites such as Meister High Schools, the outcomes of SSAFY training periods, and the talent demand in the industry.
Currently, there are 54 Meister High Schools nationwide. The government plans to increase this number to 65 by 2027. Meister High Schools, which are educational institutions that cultivate talent ready to be immediately deployed in the industry, have shown considerable demand for SSAFY. It is expected that SSAFY will greatly contribute to revitalizing Meister High Schools. The SSAFY advisory committee, composed of experts from academia and civil society, also requested the expansion of admission opportunities for SSAFY trainees. The committee believes this will further contribute to solving the societal challenges of youth unemployment and the shortage of software talent.
In response to these social demands and the SSAFY committee's request, Samsung decided to expand the education target group. Confident that SSAFY has firmly established itself as a practical talent development 'software education institution,' Samsung felt it could extend opportunities to high school graduates as well. Since starting its first cohort in December 2018, SSAFY has produced about 6,900 graduates through nine cohorts. Of these, 5,748 have secured employment, resulting in an employment rate of 83%. Including early employment from the 10th and 11th cohorts, approximately 6,000 graduates have successfully found jobs.
Graduates have entered companies such as Samsung Electronics, Naver, Coupang, KT DS, LG Uplus (large corporations), FortyTwoMaru (startups), and the five major banks (financial sector). The number of companies employing SSAFY graduates is about 1,200. Companies have also responded positively. Nearly 160 companies offer preferential policies for SSAFY graduates during recruitment, such as exemption from document screening, exemption from coding tests, and additional points in document screening.
Samsung held the 10th cohort graduation ceremony at the SSAFY Seoul campus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. About 100 people attended, including Lee Jeong-han, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Samsung officials, outstanding graduates, and their families. Additionally, around 800 people joined online from campuses nationwide. Director Lee said, "SSAFY, which cultivates software talent with problem-solving skills ready for immediate deployment in the field, is a reliable partner needed by both youth and companies. I heard that from the 13th cohort, Meister High School graduates will also be able to participate, and I look forward to more outstanding talents being produced."
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