Vice Minister of Education Park Chunran held "2018 Workshop for Vocational High School Principals" on 17th September 2018 to discuss immediate tasks and directions for the development of vocational high schools around the country.

Principals of vocational high schools asserted that immediate problems should be considered as an opportunity for a new leap forward and that this would not be sufficient with the efforts of vocational schools alone, but that the government's and companies' support and interest would be needed.

In this year's "vocational development discussion", principals, teachers, students and entrepreneurs discussed immediate problems and proposed improvement plans to suggest constructive discussions about vocational education.

Mr. Cho Yong, Director of Korean Secondary Vocational Education Associations noted that "Vocational high schools are facing a diminishing number of applicants, aggravation of employment situation and security-related accidents." He further stressed that, "in order for vocational high schools to experience a new leap forward, students should find a safe and suitable job and be recognized as a confident member of society. This will help resolve young people's unemployment problems."

Mr. Lee Chan Yeol, Committee Chairman of the National Assembly Education Committee indicated that "vocational high schools are contributing to our economy and to the growth of our enterprises. To counter problems like job mismatching we wil support vocational high schools more actively."

Vice Minister of Education Park Chunran requested, "to open an era of hope for high school graduates, the MoE will closely cooperate with related ministries, and make sure that students can foster their key capacities and find a quality job that suits them."

* unofficial translation