SK project aims to get youth back into work

SK Group said Wednesday it has launched a project to tackle the country’s youth unemployment problem.

SK Group Supex Council Chairman Kim Chang-geun signed a memorandum of understanding with businesses and organizations that will join the project, including the Daejeon Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, at its headquarters in Jongno, central Seoul.

The company said it will select 4,000 people looking for jobs, 2,000 each in the next two years. It will teach them skills that are being used in industrial fields in cooperation with its business partners and social enterprises.

First, the young people will be trained in an SK program for two to three months and then go for a three to four month internship programs with cooperating companies.

SK said it will pay wages during the internship of about 1.5 million won ($1,282) per month and all expenses for the education programs.

After the young people complete the training and internship programs, SK will help them find full-time jobs in cooperation with its business partners. The company is also considering giving extra credits for those young people in its own recruiting process.

Along with the education program, SK will operate a project that could help young people start up their own companies.

The company said it will open start-up support centers on 25 university campuses in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Daejeon and Chungcheong to provide educational programs about start-ups. The centers will provide know-how establishing a business for 10,000 people in each of the next two years.

After six months of education, the start-up centers will select 20 competitive teams to help them realize their business ideas with the Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center.

SK said it will verify whether the start-up ideas are workable in various industries.

The company said its ultimate goal is to establish a SK Creative Economy Innovation Center in Silicon Valley in the United States, in cooperation with the state-run Korea Innovation Center.

“As one of the nation’s leading conglomerates, trying to solve social problems like youth unemployment is a part of our jobs,” said Kim.

“We will keep trying to develop a healthier employment environment in the future.”

BY KWON SANG-SOO [kwon.sangsoo@joongang.co.kr]