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| Trainees and trainers of Samsung Electronics' Software Academy for Youth (SSAFY) pose for a photo during the entrance ceremony of this year's class at SSAFY's campus in Seoul, July 18. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung Electronics held an entrance ceremony for the 10th program of the Samsung Software Academy for Youth (SSAFY), a social contribution program aimed at fostering the next generation of experts in the Korean software industry, continuing efforts to expand the software market here, the company said Monday.
The SSAFY is a program in which Samsung, in partnership with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, provides free software education and various employment support services to jobseekers under the age of 29.
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| A logo for Samsung Electronics / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
A total of 1,150 students enrolled for the 10th edition of the program at five campuses nationwide in Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, Gumi and Busan.
Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Sung-hee and Samsung Electronics President Park Sung-hee joined 100 trainees for the entrance ceremony held at the academy's Seoul campus on July 18, while another 1,050 more trainees participated online from their campuses.
"I hope you will use the opportunity of the SSAFY as a springboard for growth and grow into software developers who lead technological innovation," the vice minister said. "The government will also expand support for more programs similar to the SSAFY to foster young experts."
"The trainees can achieve great things, if you don't give up and work towards your goals with your peers even in the midst of a difficult and challenging education process," Park said. "We hope that the SSAFY will help the trainees develop a broader perspective and creative ideas to become outstanding software professionals."
The SSAFY provides a program that trains software developers to immediately work at companies, including intensive software training and collaborative projects for a total of 1,600 hours, eight hours a day for a year.
All trainees will also receive 1 million won ($780) in educational support. In addition, to ensure that software education leads to employment, the program provides career counseling, interviews, consulting and recruitment information, and also holds job fairs and company briefings.
Samsung also signed an agreement in June with four major banks ― Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank and Woori Bank ― to support the SSAFY to foster digital experts in the financial sectors. With the agreement, they launched a financial specialization project course with the participation of the four banks.
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