Operation of On-site Career Experience for 26 Middle Schools in the Region Linked to the Free Semester System
Enhancing On-site Career Experience through Stepwise Operation of 'Pre-education-Experience-Post-activity'
Supporting Various Job Experiences from YouTube Creators to 3D Printer Experts and Coding Game Developers
Nowon-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will operate the field-centered career experience program ‘Cheong-Jin-Gi’ to support children in making autonomous career decisions.
According to the ’2023 Elementary and Secondary Career Education Status Survey‘ conducted by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, the percentage of respondents who said “I have a desired occupation” was about 80% among elementary school students, but significantly dropped to 59% among middle school students.
In response, the district decided to support field-centered career experiences through the Sangsang-Irum Center, a local career exploration hub. This is to strengthen the self-directed career exploration capabilities of youth so they can dream of and realize future occupations.
As last year’s participating students responded positively with comments such as “It was an opportunity to think about my career” and “I learned different aspects of jobs I wasn’t interested in,” various field-centered job experiences have been prepared again this year.
The youth career and job experience program ‘Cheong-Jin-Gi’ is operated in two phases: pre-education and post-education to ensure systematic experience activities. Before the experience, participants select the experience site and schedule, check information about the site, and prepare for interviews including Q&A about the occupation. Safety education and gender equality education are also conducted for a safe experience.
After the on-site career experience, which includes Q&A interviews, job observation, and hands-on activities, post-education takes place. Participants organize their experiences independently, write reports, and share their impressions with friends.
The occupations available for experience in the program range widely from public institutions, civic groups, and universities inside and outside Nowon-gu to magicians, future farmers, YouTube creators, and newly emerging jobs such as 3D printer specialists and coding game developers. The participants are approximately 4,500 middle school students from 26 middle schools in Nowon-gu who are part of the free semester system.
The district also operates ‘Youth Agit,’ a cultural and leisure space for youth. To provide a space where young people can rest sufficiently, socialize, and nurture various dreams, the project began in 2020 and currently operates seven locations by region. Each Agit is equipped with various facilities and themes such as a one-person media room, dance room, gaming space, karaoke, and powder room, receiving great responses from youth.
District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I believe that ‘knowing’ must precede ‘choosing,’ so we prepared a field-centered program where various careers can be experienced in advance,” adding, “We will spare no support for youth who have difficulties exploring their careers so they can dream big toward the future.”
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