SK to Create 27,000 Youth Jobs in Semiconductors and Batteries Over 3 Years

Youth Hope ON (溫) Detailed Action Plan Established
9,000 Additional Hires Planned... Focus on New Industries Like Semiconductors, Batteries, and Bio
Chairman Chey Tae-won Encourages "Significantly Increasing Youth Hiring in Future Promising Industries"

▲SK Seorin Building exterior view

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Group will create an additional 14,000 youth jobs and support education and training in future core industries such as semiconductors, batteries, and bio. This is a detailed implementation plan of the 'Youth Hope ON (溫)' partnership signed with the government last October, which is 9,000 more than the initially planned 18,000.

According to SK Group on the 13th, major SK affiliates will newly hire 27,000 young people over three years as part of the Youth Hope ON partnership. Recruitment will be focused on core industry areas such as semiconductors, batteries, and bio.

SK explained that this is because they need to secure a large number of excellent semiconductor personnel ahead of the establishment of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, and the necessity to additionally hire young talent has increased due to the growing global battery demand, preparation for eco-friendly business transition, and leading ICT competitiveness.

Thus, SK Group plans to take the lead in resolving youth employment difficulties by directly hiring or supporting the startup of an additional 14,000 people in future core industry fields.

Chairman Chey Tae-won also encouraged youth recruitment at the Youth Hope ON partnership signing ceremony, stating, "The solution to youth job issues is for companies to create good jobs above all," and "SK will significantly increase youth recruitment centered on future promising industries beyond the initial plan."

Specifically, SK Hynix set the number of selected candidates for next year’s 'Youth Hy-Five' program, which helps educate and employ semiconductor specialists, at 400, 100 more than this year. These candidates will receive four weeks of specialized training, participate in an internship program at partner companies, and have the opportunity for full-time employment.

Additionally, SK Hynix, which operates semiconductor-related contract departments at six domestic universities, plans to select 150 students next year, a 50% increase from this year, to nurture and hire them as future semiconductor core researchers in big data and AI.

SK On, the battery subsidiary of SK Innovation, announced a recruitment notice for a battery master’s program in October in collaboration with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). SK On plans to expand the battery contract departments, which provide tuition support and employment benefits after graduation, to other universities.

Besides hiring an additional 9,000 young talents in core industry areas, SK Group will foster or support nearly 5,000 jobs over the next three years, including building a talent ecosystem for K-semiconductor talent development (1,200 people), supporting social advancement of youth such as the disabled (SIAT) and vulnerable employment groups (SK New School) (700 people), and socially innovative youth startup support (LOOKIE, 3,000 people).

SK Group will also strengthen youth vocational training and startup support. SK Telecom plans to provide AI practical skill enhancement curricula such as voice recognition and conversational language models to about 1,000 university students. SK Group is considering gradually opening its in-house education platform Sunny (my SUNI) to the youth demographic from next year onward.

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