Samsung Starts Paid Job Training for Youngsters
11 December, 2018
Samsung on Monday admitted its first batch of 500 trainees in Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju and Gumi.
In a bid to mollify the government, Samsung will provide one year's software training to 10,000 young jobseekers over the next five years with a stipend of W1 million a month (US$1=W1,128).
Thousands of applicants jumped at the chance. According to Samsung, the average age of the successful applicants is 26 and the male-female ratio is 7:3. Samsung selected half of trainees from software backgrounds and the other half from unrelated disciplines.
Some 250 will study in Seoul, 100 in Daejeon and 75 each in Gwangju and Gumi.
/Courtesy of Samsung
One 27-year-old trainee said, "I applied to 30 companies and got accepted by one mid-sized business. But I felt I'd have better prospects if I get software training at Samsung."
Applicants were also encouraged by the stipend. Another 24-year-old said, "I won't have to turn to my parents for help thanks to the W1 million stipend and can prepare for a job through professional training."
Samsung decided to offer the training to improve its image after its chief Lee Jae-yong was convicted of bribing the former President Park Geun-hye, and anti-big business sentiment ran high in Korean society.
The conglomerate benchmarked École 42, a free computer programming school in Paris and IBM P-TECH, which was set up by the computer giant and City University of New York.
Classes run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and last a year. In the first quarter, students will be offered a range of activities to explore the field, while the second quarter is devoted to individual projects. Staff will offer help with job searches upon graduation. Samsung will recruit another 500 trainees next May.
TAG(s):