Korea opens contest for youth job-experience stories at social enterprises

South Korea's labor ministry said Monday that the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency has opened a contest for written accounts of young people's work experience at social enterprises, with entries accepted through Nov. 6.

The agency is seeking cases that show how the placements created social value and changed the organizations and the participants.

Entries are open to companies and young people taking part in the program or who have finished it. Applicants must submit a registration form and an account of their experience by email by the Nov. 6 deadline.

The contest is split into a company category and a youth category. Companies are judged on the social value created through the placements and on the changes hiring young people brought to their organizations. Young people are judged on what they learned about social enterprises, how their job skills improved and how the experience affected their personal growth and career plans.

An evaluation panel will name eight winners in all, with one top prize, one excellence prize and two encouragement prizes in each category. Winners will receive awards from the agency's president and cash prizes. The winning cases will be presented at a results-sharing conference in Seoul on Dec. 1.

"This contest is a chance to share the meaningful changes and achievements that social enterprises and young people have produced through work experience," said Kang Yun-jung, a division head at the agency. She asked companies and young people to take part so that their experiences of creating social value and their stories of growth can spread widely.

The contest builds on a program that was expanded this year. A supplementary budget in April created the social-value track, which provides work experience at social enterprises, and opened 2,000 additional places.