Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Hyunjae) has been recognized as an institution with outstanding project execution capabilities, earning an "Excellent" rating in the performance evaluation of the "2025 Youth Challenge Support Project" organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
This achievement is the result of close collaboration between Hanam City and the project operating organization, the Korea Employment Service Promotion Agency, which formed a consortium to work together. In particular, through this evaluation, Hanam City has secured the status of an "excellent performing institution," allowing it to receive stable national funding until 2027 without a separate application process.
This rating reflects high scores in key indicators that demonstrate the qualitative level of the project. In fact, the city recorded a high completion rate of 94.8% last year, and 69.2% of those who completed the program went on to find employment, start businesses, or participate in national employment support programs, proving the city’s robust operational capabilities.
Building on this successful experience, the city plans to expand the recruitment scale for 2026 from 96 to 104 participants and will invest a total budget of 527.92 million won to fully launch the project.
The Youth Challenge Support Project is designed to motivate young people who have given up on job searching or are struggling to prepare for employment, by providing personalized, integrated support for confidence building, career exploration, and strengthening job-seeking skills, thereby encouraging their participation in the labor market.
The main target group is young people aged 18 to 34 who have not been employed or participated in education or vocational training for at least six months prior to the application date. In addition, young people preparing for independence after leaving child welfare facilities, those entering or leaving youth welfare facilities, North Korean defectors, and victims of humidifier disinfectant are also eligible for support.
The 2026 project will be divided into short-term (at least 5 weeks), mid-term (at least 15 weeks), and long-term (at least 25 weeks) courses, with 24 participants in the short-term, 52 in the mid-term, and 28 in the long-term programs.
The program offers tailored, integrated support, including intensive counseling, case management, career exploration, and job competency enhancement. Practical curricula reflecting the needs of young people, such as the "Birkman Personality Story," "AI Utilization Class," and "Traditional Dessert Making," will also be provided.
Youth who complete the courses will receive participation allowances and incentives of up to 500,000 won for the short-term, up to 2.2 million won for the mid-term, and up to 3.5 million won for the long-term programs.
Hanam City will recruit participants for the mid-term course starting on February 12 and the short-term course starting on March 4. Interested youth can apply online through the Ministry of Employment and Labor's "Employment24" website.
Mayor Lee Hyunjae stated, "Achieving this excellent rating is the result of the city listening to the concerns of young people and driving real change," adding, "We will continue to do our best to ensure that the youth, who are the future of Hanam, can take on new challenges and make progress through a comprehensive support system."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
