With youth employment dropping, students look to semiconductor specialty schools for guaranteed work

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With youth employment dropping, students look to semiconductor specialty schools for guaranteed work

Published: 03 Dec. 2025, 07:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Students practice PLC control at Suwon Hi-tech High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Nov. 17. [KIM JONG-HO]

As Korea’s semiconductor industry enters a new hiring boom, semiconductor-focused Meister High Schools are emerging as rare bright spots in the country’s weak youth job market, posting near-perfect employment rates and drawing intense competition from students and parents.

A Meister school is a type of vocational high school in Korea designed specifically to train highly skilled professionals who can enter the work force immediately after graduation.

Students at Chungbuk Semiconductor High School in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong, on Nov. 12 entered the school’s semiconductor training lab after putting on cleanroom suits and completing an air shower. Inside the “yellow bay,” a yellow-lit room, equipment etched precise circuit patterns onto thin wafers.

"We use yellow lighting because certain wavelengths of light can interfere with semiconductor fabrication," said Baek Jong-in, the school’s head teacher for industry-academic cooperation. "This is a training facility, but aside from a few elements, it is almost identical to an actual production line."

A whiteboard nearby held notes left by students.

"The hands-on training helps us grasp the process more quickly," senior student Kim Jae-seok said. “We skip some steps and use harmless nitrogen instead of real gases, but I understand things much faster here than when I read them in a textbook.”

Chungbuk Semiconductor High School was the first of seven semiconductor-focused Meister high schools to open. The campus includes eight buildings and is constructing a Semiconductor Education Support Center with equipment donated by a Chungcheongbuk-do Office of Education. The school plans to install expensive semiconductor manufacturing equipment donated by a major company three years ago. Students will learn materials, design, manufacturing processes and programming.

Students examine an aluminum model made with a five-axis machining center at Suwon Hi-tech High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Nov. 17. [KIM JONG-HO]

"The center will also train adults seeking reemployment," Baek said.

The school posted a 96.4 percent employment rate in February, with 107 out of 111 graduating seniors who sought jobs securing positions. Other vocational high schools record an average rate of only 55.2 percent. Twenty graduates joined large companies like Samsung, while most others entered foreign semiconductor equipment firms or suppliers.

“This year marks the start of a real semiconductor boom, and companies need even more skilled workers,” Principal Seo Woon-seok said. “I expect the number of graduates entering large companies to rise further next year.”

The strong results have fueled families' growing interest. Suwon Hi-tech High School, a semiconductor Meister school in Suwon, Gyeonggi, recorded a 2.7 to 1 applicant-to-seat ratio. Students outside the top 5 percent of their middle school class now struggle to gain admission.

Interest has risen even more this year after SK hynix paid large performance bonuses and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited Korea.

“Some parents who work overseas as corporate expatriates contact the school because they want to send their children here,” said Heo Ji-hwa, a department head at Suwon Hi-tech High School. “More families believe that instead of sending their children to college without a clear plan, specialized training aimed at early employment offers stronger long-term prospects.”

Students practice semiconductor programming at Suwon Hi-tech High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Nov. 17. [KIM JONG-HO]

Principal Jang Yong-gyu, a former Samsung Display executive, said the school transformed its reputation.

“There was a time when vocational high schools were avoided in this area, but now students need grades strong enough for a science high school or foreign language high school to enter here.”

Current students say they feel confident about both employment and future academic plans.

“If I go to university, it can take five or six years to graduate, but during that time I can build real expertise,” senior student Jeon Eun-ji said. "I plan to join a major company and later attend graduate school through an in-service program."

Jeon, who accumulated 196.4 out of a possible 200 grade points during her time in middle school, is preparing for Samsung Electronics’ high school recruitment track.

Senior student Kang Hee-jun, who already received a job offer from a commercial bank, said his most memorable experience was a training program at Samsung Electro-Mechanics.

“I spent two weeks working with automated equipment that inspects camera module parts,” he said. “It was something I could never have done at a regular high school, and it helped a lot with employment.”

Graduates also express satisfaction.

“My salary is not in the hundreds of millions of won yet, but after two or three years I can afford to buy a studio apartment near my workplace,” he said. “It takes four years to become a university graduate. When I add the income earned during those years and the tuition I saved by not attending college, I think I made the right decision.”

Students practice building three-axis CNC machines at Suwon Hi-tech High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Nov. 17. [KIM JONG-HO]

Korea currently has 59 Meister High Schools, all created to train technical specialists. Seven of them, including two preparing to open, focus on semiconductors. Students live full-time in dormitories and pay no tuition. Schools recruit nationwide, so students from different regions study together.

“During school breaks, students take customized training courses at partner companies for two or three weeks, and during the semester they join major-related club activities,” said Park Hee-jun, director of the Ministry of Education’s policy division for secondary vocational education. "Students learn in an environment where everyone works hard, so they must stay focused on academic work and technical training until 10 p.m. to achieve good grades."

Graduates who receive this training are regarded highly by companies, who continue to hire students from the program, creating a virtuous hiring cycle, Park said.

Some students, however, struggle to adapt to communal dormitory life. Male students also face challenges because some companies hesitate to hire workers who have not completed military service.

Most Korean men complete their 18- to 21-month mandatory military service while still in college, before beginning their careers.

“Companies need to open their doors more widely to candidates who have not completed military service if we want to strengthen high school employment and keep top students applying to Meister schools,” Principal Jang said.

Jang Myung-hee, vice president for academic affairs at Hansung University, said Korea must expand industry-focused schools like Meister schools to support more high school graduates entering the work force.

“We also need stable systems that let students work first and pursue further education later, including work-study programs,” Jang said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM MIN-SANG, LEE BO-RAM [[email protected]]