Gwangyang City, 'Gwangyang Bay Area Small and Medium Business Training Center' Construction Becomes Visible

Feasibility Study Service National Budget of 200 Million Won, Accelerating Construction of Gwangyang Bay Area Small and Medium Business Training Center

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Gwangyang City has received a budget of 200 million KRW to support a feasibility study for attracting the Gwangyang Bay Area Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Training Center, which will play a key role in cultivating specialized personnel for SMEs in the Gwangyang Bay area and strengthening competitiveness.

The city announced that with the final approval during the National Assembly Budget Subcommittee review, the long-awaited project to establish the SME Training Center has become tangible.

To attract the SME Training Center aimed at expanding the poor corporate education infrastructure for industries specialized in the Gwangyang Bay area (such as materials including steel, petrochemicals, defense industry, aerospace, etc.), the city has made multifaceted efforts since 2017.

Mayor Jeong Hyun-bok of Gwangyang, together with local members of the National Assembly, continuously visited relevant central government departments and the National Assembly to actively explain the necessity and feasibility of the project, ultimately securing national funding.

In particular, last year, through the South Coast Southern Central Region Development Council, which included nine mayors and county heads from Yeosu, Suncheon, Jinju, Sacheon, and others, a joint petition requesting the attraction of the training center was drafted and submitted to the relevant departments, marking a significant achievement through diverse efforts.

The Gwangyang Bay National Industrial Complex and General Industrial Complex house over 100,000 workers and about 5,000 companies, but due to the lack of training facilities, the provision of quality educational services to businesspeople and workers has been insufficient.

The city plans to operate the SME Training Center as an institution for cultivating high-level personnel who will play a major role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by organizing differentiated curricula focused on steel, petrochemicals, aerospace, and defense industries, and by developing specialized programs in artificial intelligence, big data, and non-face-to-face industries.

Mayor Jeong Hyun-bok of Gwangyang said, “We have taken the first step toward attracting the Gwangyang Bay Area SME Training Center,” adding, “We will do our best to attract the SME Training Center, which will play a major role as a specialized institution for cultivating customized professional personnel in the region and operate training programs utilizing the area's natural tourism (healing) resources.”

Meanwhile, the SME Training Centers operated by the Small and Medium Business Corporation are currently operating or under construction in seven locations nationwide, offering programs such as CEO courses, smart convergence, technology and quality, e-learning training, and customized corporate training programs.

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