Starting Next Year, Participation in Samsung Youth SW Academy Possible with Tomorrow Learning Card

Minister Ahn Kyung-duk of the Ministry of Employment and Labor Attends the 5th SSAFY Graduation Ceremony

Minister of Employment and Labor, An Kyung-duk. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Starting next year, the government will allow participation in the 'Samsung Youth Software (SW) Academy' (SSAFY) through the National Tomorrow Learning Card, which provides 3 to 5 million KRW per person for vocational training costs. Samsung Electronics has decided to increase the recruitment scale per cohort from 950 to 1,150. This means that young job seekers will have more opportunities to receive IT job training from top-tier companies that offer 'quality jobs.'

On the 21st at 2 p.m., Minister An Kyung-duk of the Ministry of Employment and Labor attended the 5th graduation ceremony held at the SSAFY Seoul Campus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the ministry announced. The event was attended by 50 young people who completed the one-year training course with excellent grades, Samsung Electronics President Park Hak-gyu, Minister An, and others.

As part of the 'Youth Employment Support Project,' which aims to expand youth job training and work experience programs led by companies and supported by the government across the business sector, Minister An visited the SSAFY graduation ceremony site. Eleven companies and organizations, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company, SK Hynix, POSCO, and Lotte Group, have joined the project.

SSAFY is an IT job training program operated since 2018 and is Samsung Electronics' representative social contribution program. In December 2018, the Ministry of Employment and Labor signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Samsung Electronics to support SSAFY trainee recruitment promotion and employment services. Due to the collaboration between the ministry and Samsung, starting next year, participation in SSAFY will also be possible through the National Tomorrow Learning Card. As part of the K-Digital Training policy, the ministry will provide training costs along with separate monthly training incentives to SSAFY campuses in Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam, Daejeon, Gwangju, and Gumi.

The government has been actively implementing K-Digital Training, a core policy of the Korean New Deal, since this year. It is a program jointly operated by private innovative training institutions such as Woowa Tech Course and companies like NAVER. As of this month, 231 training courses from 105 training institutions have been selected and supported through the National Tomorrow Learning Card. The number of participating youths has increased from around 1,000 to 2,000 annually to over 10,000 this year, and it is expected to grow further next year.

The ministry also established a new training type called the 'Digital Leading Company Academy,' where digital leading companies directly nurture talent. Through a public contest, five training courses from four companies (Samsung, KT, POSCO, SK Hynix), including SSAFY, were finally selected. They plan to train 3,100 talents annually in regions such as Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Gumi, and Pohang.

Additionally, starting next year, a new 17 billion KRW youth-friendly ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) support project will be launched. Participation will be expanded not only to large corporations but also to medium-sized and small enterprises, social ventures, and startups.

Minister An emphasized, "With the shift in hiring trends toward on-demand and experienced positions, young people have a high demand for job training and work experience. The government will actively support this through 'K-Digital Training' and the 'Youth-Friendly Corporate ESG Support Project.' We will also connect with online youth centers and university job centers to help young people participate more easily in various programs."

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