Labor ministry unveils a 20-member STEP monitoring group

The labor ministry said Wednesday that Korea University of Technology and Education's Online Lifelong Education Institute launched a 20-member monitoring group to improve the user experience of its STEP online vocational-training platform. STEP provides free online vocational-training content in technology, engineering, digital and emerging-technology fields to workers, job seekers and people preparing for employment across Korea.

The group will assess the service from a learner's perspective and recommend improvements. It will work through Oct. 30. At a Wednesday morning launch ceremony at a lecture room at Korea Trade Insurance Corp.'s Cheonan branch, selected participants received appointment certificates and guidance on their activities and preparing result reports.

In its first phase, the group will monitor platform operations, promotion and related matters. It will then split into system and content groups. The institute said its responsible departments will review proposals and reflect them in service improvements and operating plans.

"STEP's service monitoring group is an important channel for incorporating learners' real experiences and opinions into improvements," Han Yeon-hee, head of the institute, said. "This year, group-specific in-depth monitoring will identify more effective improvement tasks and create a STEP service that learners can feel."

The institute will pay members a stipend for their work. After a comprehensive review of submitted result reports, it will select four outstanding members for the Online Lifelong Education Institute director's award.