Breaking the Hiring Freeze with AI... KT Hosts 'Able School' Job Fair

KT Ableschool Training Scene
Photo by KT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] KT announced on the 18th that it held a job fair for the second cohort of trainees in its youth artificial intelligence (AI) talent development program, KT Able School.

At the event, not only major companies within the KT Group such as KT, KT Cloud, and Genie Music participated, but also startups belonging to the AI One Team, including Hanjin Group, Mobilint (AI semiconductor development), Ripple AI (video content), and Stylebot (AI fashion platform), held recruitment briefings targeting outstanding practical talents.

KT Able School trainees had the opportunity to freely engage in Q&A sessions with recruitment officers and current employees from each company during the event.

One trainee who attended the event said, “Although I am a non-major unrelated to IT, through KT Able School education, I am building a differentiated profile by combining my existing major field with data analysis,” adding, “During the education period, I participated in various practical projects, gaining valuable experience in producing deliverables through collaboration with team members, and I also gained confidence to challenge a wider range of job roles.”

The employment rate of KT Able School’s first cohort graduates reached 83% in the 'AI Developer Track' and 81% in the 'DX Consultant Track,' which mostly consists of non-majors. The digital capabilities built through intensive AI education and practical project experience, like those at Able School, are being used as powerful tools for employment.

In fact, a recruitment officer from one of the companies attending the event said, “Companies urgently need digital talents who can be immediately deployed to practical work, but since AI capabilities are difficult to objectively prove, whether candidates have actual project experience often becomes an important criterion in hiring decisions.”

KT Able School began its first cohort in December 2021 and is preparing to enroll the third cohort by the end of this month. Through KT’s self-developed online education and practice platform 'AIVLE-EDU,' real-time lectures and one-on-one tutoring are provided. Education centers are also supported at KT regional headquarters in the metropolitan area as well as in Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu, and Busan. In particular, mini-projects that apply learned content to projects to develop practical work skills and big projects that produce service development and proposal strategy deliverables have received great responses from trainees.

Additionally, KT Able School offers trainees the opportunity to obtain the private certification ‘AICE (AI Certificate for Everyone)’ that verifies AI practical skills, as well as chances to win awards through various competitive programs. Multi-faceted support measures such as project portfolio consulting and mock interviews have also been prepared to provide practical help for trainees’ employment.

Graduates from the first and second cohorts of KT Able School have achieved excellent results by participating in various contests, including winning the grand prize twice consecutively at the 'K-DT Hackathon' hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The second cohort has even started future digital field projects in collaboration with actual KT business departments, establishing KT Able School as a digital talent academy where practical skills in AI and DX fields can be developed.

Jin Young-sim, Head of KT Group Talent Development Office (Executive Director), said, “With rapid digital transformation across all industrial sectors, more companies are showing interest in hiring digital practical talents trained by KT Able School,” adding, “Going forward, KT Able School will continue to produce competitive digital practical talents who will lead Korea as an AI powerhouse and will do its best to expand hiring opportunities so that these talents can thrive in more fields.”

Meanwhile, KT Able School’s second cohort will complete all educational courses with a graduation ceremony on the 19th of this month. The third cohort’s education will begin on the 31st. Detailed information about the program can be found on the KT Able School website.

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