Universities and Companies Also Foster Talent Ready for Immediate Practical Deployment

Yoon Administration Aims to Train 1 Million Digital Talent by 2027

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] To address the chronic shortage of digital talent in the software (SW) industry, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has set "training 1 million digital talents" as a national agenda, prompting the private sector to roll up its sleeves as well. Universities and companies have joined forces to cultivate practical talents who can be immediately deployed in the field, rather than the "desk-type" technical education where universities and companies are separated.

According to the ICT industry on the 8th, the annual enrollment capacity of SW-related departments in domestic universities is about 20,000, which is far from sufficient to meet the current demand for SW talent. Lee Min-seok, Dean of Innovation Academy (Professor of Software Department at Kookmin University), pointed out, "It is not only insufficient to meet the demand for SW talent needed in the corporate field, but also there are few opportunities for non-majors to take SW courses," adding, "(Even university graduates) have problems such as weak basic skills or lack of practical technical experience."

Although the digital transformation accelerated during the COVID-19 era, the pace of change in the education field has not kept up. In the industry, IT companies such as Naver and Kakao, as well as traditional industries including banking, manufacturing, education, and automotive sectors, have started recruiting developers on their own. Small and medium-sized enterprises, which lack capital compared to large corporations, suffer headaches every year due to the outflow of mid-level software personnel.

The government, during the Presidential Transition Committee period, set a goal to train 1 million digital talents by 2027 to solve the SW workforce problem. Centered on the Ministry of Education, the main department in charge, plans include making digital education mandatory from elementary and middle school students, as well as expanding software convergence courses within universities. Flexibility in graduate school enrollment standards will also be implemented to increase the admission capacity of SW major departments.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, which has strong ties with the industry, is responsible for public-private linked education. The industry has urged the expansion of company-participatory education, citing a large gap between the developer skills required by companies and the talents produced through current domestic SW education. This year, the Ministry of Science and ICT will newly introduce the company-led ‘Campus SW Academy’ and the ‘Network-type Campus SW Academy,’ where regional universities, local governments, and regional industries unite to cultivate talent. Leading domestic companies such as NHN, Kakao Enterprise, KT Convergence Technology Institute, and LG AI Research Institute are participating in the project.

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