Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan City Office of Education Proclaims Vision for Developing Talent in Future Strategic Industries

【Financial News Jeonnam-Gwangju = Reporter Hwang Tae-jong】The Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan City Office of Education held the “2026 Vision Proclamation Ceremony for Developing Talent Tailored to Future Strategic Industries” at the main auditorium of the AI Education Center on the 9th. It officially proposed that local governments, economic organizations, companies and institutions in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region participate in realizing “education local production and local consumption.”
“Education local production and local consumption” is a key policy of the Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan City Office of Education. The initiative aims to train students from the classroom onward with the skills needed for future industries and develop Jeonnam and Gwangju into a K-Education special city representing South Korea.
Choi Seung-bok, Gwangju deputy superintendent of education, who announced the win-win cooperation proposal, emphasized, “To nurture talent in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region and achieve shared regional growth, the region must establish a foundation for corporate growth, the education sector must prepare talent to lead future industries, and companies must provide local talent with opportunities to learn, work and grow.”
He then presented five areas of cooperation: establishing a system linking local talent with recruitment; jointly developing customized curricula between companies and schools; jointly using educational infrastructure; expanding workplace training, internships and on-site training for teachers; and supporting post-employment learning and skills training for high-school graduates who enter the workforce.
Accordingly, the Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan City Office of Education plans to gradually expand its system for developing talent in future strategic industries through its “four-part STEP strategy”: operating S-specialized schools, restructuring T-departments, linking E-education with employment, and establishing a P-centered support system led by the Future Strategic Industry Talent Institute.
The office will also actively urge the government and local governments to establish practical incentives and support measures to encourage companies’ active participation. It will strengthen the foundation for sustained cooperation between companies and the education sector.
In addition, the three agreement-based specialized high schools selected for 2026—Gwangju Technical High School, Dongil Future Science High School and Naju Technical High School—will provide specialized education linked to companies and universities, focusing on smart engineering, AI and AX, and energy and future industries.
Meanwhile, the Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan City Office of Education presented certificates of appreciation to 29 companies and related institutions that attended the ceremony, including the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, Naju-si, the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Energy Valley Industry-Academia Convergence Center, anchor project groups from Chonnam National University (CNU), Dongshin University and Dongkang College, Amkor Technology Korea, and the Artificial Intelligence Business Convergence Project Group.

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