The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced that it plans to select and support 180 specialized high schools to foster excellent human resources and support employment linkage in small and medium-sized enterprises through customized vocational training centered on the field linked to industrial demand.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has been operating the ‘SME Specialized High School Human Resources Development’ project since 2008, and in 2024, it developed 5,368 SME-specific human resources through 173 schools’ employment (industry-academia) customized classes.
Gyeongbuk Machinery and Metal High School, which participated in the 24-year SME specialized high school human resource development project, achieved excellent results with 86.4% of participating students getting jobs at local SMEs through the smart factory and regional specialized customized class curriculum.
This year, in order to respond to the decline in the school-age population and changes in industrial structure, we have strengthened customized specialized education by region and industry.
The regional industry-tailored specialized education will be implemented by designating regional specialized schools in two tracks: regional key industry-linked and work-study-linked. The number of schools will be expanded from 5 to 10. In addition, in order to expand the curriculum in cutting-edge promising fields such as AI and smart manufacturing, the number of schools receiving new technology-focused support will be expanded from 20 to 25.
The participating schools in 2025 will be confirmed through the evaluation of continued support in 2024 and the public offering of new participating schools in 2025. Specialized high schools wishing to participate for the first time can apply through the website of the Small and Medium Business Human Resources Support Comprehensive Management System until February 14.
Kim Woo-joong, director of regional enterprise policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “We will continue to support specialized high schools so that they can attract excellent local SMEs through customized education centered on the field, and we will strengthen employment support such as finding quality jobs through cooperation with local governments, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor.”
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