Jeongeup-si Opens 'Youth Maker Center' to Create Jobs for Young People

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jaegil] Jeongeup City, Jeonbuk Province, has opened the ‘Youth Maker Center’ to create jobs for young people and is working to build a city full of youthful vitality.

On the 2nd, the city announced the official opening of the Youth Maker Center, established to help young people develop self-sustaining capabilities to overcome the difficult employment environment and to encourage stable settlement in the region.

The Youth Maker Center construction project was selected in 2019 through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s regional job model development contest.

It was promoted to foster the handcrafted shoe industry, which is facing a crisis due to the aging of skilled shoemakers, into a comparative advantage industry by utilizing inexpensive local land and labor supply, and to create youth jobs in the handcrafted shoe sector unique to Jeongeup.

Located at 525-41 Suseong-dong, the Youth Maker Center was built with a total project cost of 1.5 billion KRW, including 700 million KRW in national funds and 400 million KRW in provincial funds, and consists of a two-story building with a total floor area of 753㎡.

The center is equipped with a technical training room installed with various educational equipment and facilities, allowing trainees to hone advanced skills in handcrafted shoe production from basic to finishing stages.

Additionally, the first floor features a permanent handcrafted shoe exhibition hall and a citizen rest area, open to the public for free viewing, enabling visitors to see the handcrafted shoe production process and history at a glance.

Through this, the city has laid a solid foundation to leap forward as a mecca of the handcrafted shoe industry and expects the center to become a place that breathes new life into young people aspiring to start businesses in a regionally specialized industry differentiated from other areas.

At the opening ceremony, over 300 handcrafted shoe pieces created by trainees of the Shoe Maker training class, showcasing their honed skills, were also exhibited.

By displaying the trainees’ practical work results from the training course, the aim is to recognize their growth process and enhance the value of artisans through the sharing of skills among trainees.

The city plans to continue recruiting trainees to nurture prospective shoemakers who will carry on the tradition of the premium handcrafted shoe industry, and will actively support them from basic one-on-one apprenticeship training and advanced education to stable business start-ups.

Mayor Yoo Jinseop said, “The Youth Maker Center will be a hub space where young people’s dreams and new attempts are supported and realized,” adding, “We will foster young people’s self-sustaining capabilities to encourage stable regional settlement and create quality jobs for youth.”

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