Gwangju Injawi Holds Meeting to Promote Work-Study Parallel Apprenticeship Schools

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The Gwangju Regional Human Resources Development Committee held a "Learning Company Meeting for the Operation of the Pre-Apprenticeship Preparation Course for Work-Learning Dual System at the High School Level" on the 6th in the conference room of Sungui Technical Science High School.

This meeting was attended by about 20 people, including participating companies and related organizations such as the Gwangju Regional Headquarters of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea and the Korea Polytechnic University Apprenticeship Support Agency, to successfully promote the apprenticeship project of Sungui Technical Science High School, a new apprenticeship participating school scheduled to start training in August this year.

The participation of Sungui Technical Science High School as an apprenticeship school is notable for being the first nationwide case following the aquaculture cooking field in the Gwangju-Jeolla region in 2017, expanding the training occupations beyond the existing apprenticeship training fields of machinery, electrical and electronic, and design, to include Korean cuisine cooking, demonstrating diversity and extensibility in training occupations.

Seven companies, including Mahanji Co., Ltd. and Ssanggyo Co., Ltd., which are scheduled to participate in the industry-academia integrated apprenticeship school, a work-learning dual system at the high school level, signed business agreements to mark the successful start of the apprenticeship project. The school provides participating students with opportunities for job exploration, and companies expect to achieve results in workforce development through participation in the apprenticeship project.

The industry-academia integrated apprenticeship school, a work-learning dual system at the high school level, is a vocational education model where students grow into skilled professionals and gain employment through customized education based on the NCS curriculum at schools and companies over two years (2nd and 3rd grades). As of 2022, 143 schools nationwide, including new schools, participate with 170 training courses.

Students receive practical education and training by moving between school and company, leading to stable employment after graduation. Companies can secure excellent talent early and deploy them on-site without separate training, saving time and costs, and can receive additional points when selected as military service exemption companies.

Regarding this, a committee official stated, "The start of new training occupations in the industry-academia integrated apprenticeship school at the high school level expands the scope of apprenticeship training occupations, fosters excellent skilled workers, and develops careers to advance to higher technical levels. We will do our best to ensure continuous growth as core talents in the local community."

The Gwangju Human Resources Development Committee has operated the Work-Learning Specialized Support Center since May 2015, achieving an "S" grade in the 2020 performance evaluation and an "A" grade in 2021. Over the past three years, it has discovered 310 companies, conducted about 600 company consultations, and connected approximately 600 learning workers, making significant efforts to develop local workforce and alleviate manpower shortages in small and medium-sized enterprises.

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