Korea Industrial Complex Corporation and National Research Foundation of Korea Join Hands to Boost Youth Employment

Continuous Support for Industry-Academia Collaboration Activities to Alleviate Mismatch Between Industrial Complex Tenants and Youth

Kim Jeong-hwan, President of the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, signed a business agreement with the National Research Foundation of Korea online. Photo by Korea Industrial Complex Corporation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The government, academia, and industry are collaborating to revitalize youth employment at outstanding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within industrial complexes.

The Korea Industrial Complex Corporation (KICOX) announced on the 10th that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) to promote youth employment in industrial complexes.

The agreement was conducted online to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19. KICOX and the NRF will jointly support activities ranging from job matching between employers and job seekers to industry-academia cooperation to revitalize youth employment at outstanding SMEs in industrial complexes, which have been shrinking due to economic uncertainties such as COVID-19 and export regulations.

First, KICOX will discover quality youth jobs targeting outstanding SMEs in industrial complexes, including global leading companies, the Industrial Complex Managers Association, and Mini-Cluster member companies. The NRF will support excellent young talents from universities nationwide to secure quality jobs, including those at companies located in industrial complexes, through various industry-academia cooperation activities.

Additionally, both organizations plan to contribute to resolving job mismatches in industrial complexes by collecting corporate feedback and developing customized training programs suitable for industrial sites. Furthermore, they will jointly promote industry-academia cooperation activities such as linking with the industrial complex job matching system ‘KICOXJOB’ and the Industry-Academia Cooperation EXPO, according to KICOX.

KICOX plans to hold the 2nd Industrial Complex Job Fair later this month to support employment matching between companies in industrial complexes and socially vulnerable groups such as youth, women, and middle-aged workers. The NRF will also hold the Industry-Academia Cooperation EXPO from the 2nd to the 10th of next month to introduce major government-supported industry-academia cooperation policies and exhibit outstanding achievements.

Kim Junghwan, Chairman of KICOX, said, “We hope this agreement will provide an opportunity for companies in industrial complexes to work with excellent talents and serve as a chance for young people to realize their dreams in industrial sites.”

No Jeonghye, Chairperson of the NRF, stated, “Mutual cooperation between institutions supporting workforce development amid low birth rates and youth unemployment and institutions creating jobs in industrial sites is very encouraging. Through this, we expect excellent young talents to secure quality jobs and lay the foundation for the country’s future development.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.