The Ministry of Education said Wednesday it has newly selected Daejeon City and the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education for its Vocational Education Innovation District program.
The Vocational Education Innovation District is a vocational education model in which local companies, universities, and related institutions cultivate talent needed by regional industries, led by local governments and education offices. The Daejeon district has presented the vision "Learning, Work, and Life, a FIT in Daejeon" and will establish a vocational education cooperation system in fields such as semiconductors, smart factories, robots, smart control, drone surveying, and railway vehicle management.
The Vocational Education Innovation District is a program the Ministry of Education has pursued since 2021, and the number of designated districts has now expanded to 16, including Daejeon. By metropolitan district, there are nine: Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Ulsan, North Gyeongsang Province, North Jeolla Province, Daejeon, and the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. By basic district, there are seven: Cheonan, Dangjin, Changwon, Ansan, Gimhae, Pohang, and Sacheon-Jinju-Goseong. The Ministry of Education provides annual project funding of 750 million won per metropolitan district and 350 million won per basic district.
"The Vocational Education Innovation District supports regions in directly cultivating the talent they need and helps young people grow and settle in their regions," said Jang Hong-jae, head of the School Policy Office at the Ministry of Education. "We hope the vocational education ecosystem created jointly by regions, schools, companies, and universities will spread even further."
