Jeollabuk-do and Dangjin, Chungnam Selected as Innovation Districts for Vocational Education Projects

Ministry of Education Provides 1 Billion KRW to Jeonbuk and 500 Million KRW to Dangjin

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Jeollabuk-do and Dangjin-si, Chungnam Province have been newly selected as districts for the Vocational Education Innovation Zone project.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Education announced the selection results of two new districts to participate in the Vocational Education Innovation Zone project. The Vocational Education Innovation Zone is a vocational education support system aimed at fostering high school graduate talents leading regional industrial development. It started with 5 districts in 2021 and currently operates 12 districts as of 2023.

The newly selected districts are Jeollabuk-do and Dangjin-si, Chungnam Province, chosen through written and face-to-face evaluations.

These districts will undertake tasks for nurturing local high school graduate talents for three years from March this year to February 2026, including △ establishing a vocational education cooperation system △ creating growth pathways for local talents △ building a foundation for sustainable innovation. The Ministry of Education will support Jeollabuk-do with 1 billion KRW and Dangjin-si with 500 million KRW this year.

Specifically, Jeollabuk-do plans to cultivate field-oriented talents related to intelligent (smart) agro-biological and biotechnology (bio) industries by linking with resident companies in the Jeonbuk Advanced Industrial Research Complex (Technopark) and the Korea Food Cooperation Cluster Promotion Agency.

To this end, they will operate innovation zone curricula such as out-of-school education programs, company experience-based field training, and university-linked advanced and follow-up learning. They will designate base schools in strategic industrial sectors and establish systems for employment education for students undecided about their career paths, aiming to retain local talents after graduation.

Dangjin-si will nurture practical talents in the steel and energy sectors by linking with nearby industrial complexes such as Hyundai Steel. From the middle school stage, when students consider entering vocational high schools, they will provide career exploration opportunities. During vocational high school attendance, they will operate customized growth pathways including company-tailored education, field training, and post-graduation follow-up learning.

The Ministry of Education plans to form expert advisory groups by industry sector to conduct consultations for each district and support the nationwide sharing and dissemination of excellent cases and methods from each district through online and offline communication channels.

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