Increase in National Coverage of Vocational High School Internship Costs from 30% to 60%

Reduction of Corporate Burden from 70% to 40%
Pre-Inspection of Participating Companies Accompanied by Labor Attorneys
Expansion of Information Sharing on Companies with Industrial Accidents

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education is reforming the vocational high school field training system following the death of a trainee in Yeosu. It will strengthen pre-inspections of companies offering field training and reduce the companies' financial burden for field training from the current 70% to 40%.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy jointly announced the "Additional Improvement Plan for Vocational High School Field Training to Ensure Safety and Rights."

According to the Ministry of Education, there were 11,737 companies conducting field training as of 2020. Companies with 30 to 300 employees accounted for 39%, and those with 5 to 300 employees made up 76.5% of training sites. Since the introduction of learning-centered field training, the number of industrial accidents in 2020 was 32, a significant decrease from 53 the previous year. However, there were still considerable cases of rights violations such as excessive working hours (19%), night and holiday work (12%), unfair treatment (35%), and sexual harassment (19%). Most industrial accidents occurred in industrial fields (82.4%, 14 cases), with 2 cases in agricultural life sciences and 1 case in commercial and information fields.

The Ministry of Education will conduct pre-inspections for all leading and participating companies in field training. Currently, teachers and labor attorneys participate in inspections for leading companies, while only teachers participate for participating companies. Going forward, labor attorneys will be required to accompany inspections for participating companies as well. Especially for companies in hazardous industries such as construction, machinery, chemical engineering, and electricity, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (including the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and Safety Association) will also participate in the inspections.

The financial burden on companies for field training will be reduced, and support from education offices will be increased. Currently, companies bear 70% and the government 30%, but from the third quarter of next year, companies will bear 40%, the government 30%, and education offices 30%. The government’s support fund for field training will also increase from 24 billion KRW to 48 billion KRW. The reduced financial burden is intended to be used for training support and ensuring safety.

An official from the Ministry of Education said, "We heard students complain that companies say there is a 'company’s share' because we spend more money on training. Companies also have a strong perception that trainees are 'employees' since they promise employment when providing training, so they apply their own standards for education and labor. To ensure students learn more and are not subjected to excessive labor during training, it is necessary to reduce the companies’ financial burden."

Information sharing related to companies where industrial accidents occurred will also be expanded. The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Employment and Labor will share business registration numbers of workplaces where serious or fatal accidents occurred to restrict participation in field training at problematic workplaces.

Labor inspectors from local labor offices will be able to conduct guidance and labor inspections at workplaces vulnerable to labor management, such as hazardous workplaces or those with frequent industrial accidents. During inspections, the Ministry of Education will check compliance with field training guidelines by education offices and schools, while the Ministry of Employment and Labor will inspect safety rules at companies in high-risk industries (such as manufacturing with machinery posing entrapment risks or waste disposal businesses).

Legal amendments will be made to establish grounds for securing trainee safety. To protect the rights of field trainees, new provisions prohibiting unfair treatment will be added to laws such as the "Vocational Education and Training Promotion Act," and support will be provided for revising local ordinances on field training to clarify detailed matters related to student safety and rights.

Regarding the need for education for companies and business owners, a Ministry of Education official said, "We plan to promote industrial safety and human rights education targeting company managers and workers. Since many trainees go to small and micro enterprises, the Ministry of Employment and Labor will guide companies to participate during the project implementation."

The curriculum will be revised to add a specialized common subject called "Labor Rights and Occupational Safety and Health" to help students protect their own safety and rights. New content linked with the Ministry of Employment and Labor will be developed for special training just before field training, and safety and human rights education materials will be updated.

The Ministry of Education and local education offices will operate a "Unfair Treatment Reporting Center" at all times so that trainees can report directly. Promotion will be strengthened, and immediate rights relief or corrective actions will be supported in cooperation with certified labor attorneys and local labor offices. The function to check training logs will be improved to automatically monitor rights violations or risk signs using artificial intelligence (AI) and notify schools or parents.

Additionally, the current training method centered on employment-pledged field training will be diversified to include various types such as linked education-type field training. If a centrally managed employment-linked job training course is established, it will provide job training on behalf of companies lacking manpower or facilities, followed by employment or on-site adaptation training.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "We have prepared additional improvement plans so that vocational high school students can do field training in a safe environment while increasing training opportunities. We will do our best to ensure these changes take root in schools and companies so that no more heartbreaking accidents occur."

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