Labor ministry opens youth employment seminar for 134 universities

The labor ministry said Tuesday it opened a three-day seminar in Jeju for officials from 134 universities and related agencies to share job-matching know-how for unemployed young people, with roughly 600 participants attending.

The 2026 second-half seminar of the nationwide University Job Plus Center program began Sept. 29 and runs through Oct. 1 at Maison Glad Jeju, organized jointly by the labor ministry, the Korea Employment Information Service and the national council of the centers.

The program opens with the ministry's briefing on conditions and planned changes for its 2027 university projects, followed by case presentations from Employment Welfare Plus Centers, universities running the Job First Step Guarantee Center, and University Job Plus Centers and graduate-focused programs.

On the second day, participants will go over the 2026 performance indicators for the University Job Plus Center program and receive instruction on how to write the related reports.

The Job First Step Guarantee Center launched this year at 10 universities nationwide to provide intensive employment services for long-term unemployed young people not in education, employment or training and for those who have given up looking for work. The University Job Plus Center, launched in 2015, now operates at 122 universities, offering career and employment counseling through certified consultants, job preparation programs, corporate information and job-matching services. The centers also work with 64 universities running tailored employment services for enrolled students, 30 for high school students, and 119 hosting graduate-focused programs, which serve young people within a year of graduation, soon-to-graduate students and local youth.

"University Job Plus Centers are now moving beyond the boundaries of the university to establish themselves as true one-stop employment service hubs for all unemployed young people, including graduates and local youth," Lee Chang-su, head of the Korea Employment Information Service, said. He added that the service will keep working to provide in-depth, multifaceted employment services tailored to the characteristics of each young person.