Samsung Group Ramps Up Talent Acquisition in March... 19 Affiliates Launch Large-Scale Recruitment
24 Billion KRW Donated to Improve Educational Environment... Sponsoring International Skills Olympics
Large-Scale New Employee Recruitment Expected... Lowering Barriers for Foreign Experienced Professionals
Young Talent Halved in 10 Years Amid Semiconductor Crisis
Fierce Talent Competition with TSMC... "Samsung Must Go All Out"
Samsung Electronics is making every effort to secure talent in March. Along with hiring new and experienced employees, the company is also expanding investments in talent development, marking the full-scale implementation of its talent acquisition strategy following the semiconductor business crisis.
Employees are commuting to the Samsung Seocho Building in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
According to industry sources on the 26th, Samsung Electronics is conducting consecutive recruitment procedures to attract talent. Next month, it plans to start the first half of the year open recruitment for new employees, with not only Samsung Electronics but also 19 Samsung affiliates expected to participate. The scale of hiring this year is expected to be around 8,000, similar to previous years.
Since the 24th, recruitment of foreign experienced professionals in the research and development (R&D) field has also begun. In this recruitment, the threshold has been lowered compared to before, changing the policy to recognize the academic period of those who have obtained (or are expected to obtain) master's or doctoral degrees as work experience. There is also a possibility that qualification requirements will be partially relaxed in new employee recruitment to allow more talent to apply.
Samsung Electronics is also actively working to create an educational environment to secure outstanding talent. Early next month, it plans to donate 2.414 billion KRW to Chungnam Samsung Academy to improve the educational environment for employees' children and support the expansion of local educational infrastructure.
Chungnam Samsung Academy operates Chungnam Samsung High School located in Tangjeong-myeon, Asan, Chungnam, where the Samsung Display business site is located, and many children of Samsung employees attend the school. Samsung Electronics continues to make donations to this institution annually, maintaining its investment in talent development.
To sponsor the 48th International Skills Olympics to be held next year in Shanghai, China, Samsung Electronics will support the WorldSkills International (WSI) with 1.65 million euros (approximately 2.43 billion KRW). It will also contribute 11.38 billion KRW to a social contribution matching fund for youth education and support for vulnerable groups.
The purpose is to help young people in difficult circumstances continue their studies and grow into talents needed by Samsung Electronics and the Korean economy.
Samsung Electronics’ active approach to talent acquisition stems from the serious shortage of outstanding talent amid the semiconductor business crisis. There is growing concern internally that the decrease in young talent inflow could disrupt long-term growth strategies.
The proportion of Samsung Electronics employees under 30 years old decreased from 57% in 2013 to 27% last year, falling to less than half.
The slowdown in the semiconductor industry growth, intensified global competition, and domestic science and engineering talents’ avoidance of the electronics industry are cited as major causes. In particular, as more outstanding talents who were active in the semiconductor business move to overseas competitors such as TSMC, the issue of talent outflow has become more prominent.
An industry insider said, "If Samsung Electronics fails to secure enough next-generation core talents to lead the semiconductor business, it will affect the company’s long-term competitiveness. Entrusting the overall semiconductor business to DS Division Head (Vice Chairman) Jeon Young-hyun is evidence of the lack of suitable candidates."
He added, "Global semiconductor companies like TSMC are fiercely competing to secure talented personnel. It is time for Samsung Electronics to also go all out and actively pursue talent acquisition."
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