1. The infrastructure of Industry-academic Cooperation at the Government Level
In Korea, the acts to promote/support industry-academic cooperation in secondary vocational education include: “The Vocational Education and Training Promotion Act,” and “The Promotion of Industrial Education and Industry-Academic Cooperation Act.” The purpose of the “Vocational Education and Training Promotion Act” is to contribute to the enhancement of living standards of citizens and the development of the national economy by prescribing matters necessary for the promotion of vocational education and training so as to provide all citizens with the opportunity for various types of vocational education and training suitable for their character and aptitude, and to improve the efficiency and quality of vocational education and training. For these purposes, the Act was enacted on March 27, 1997 as Act No. 5316. The Act had great significance in that it declared the concept of industry-academic cooperation and the responsibility of a national support policy at the level of law, and included detailed contents of work experience, such as the duty of implementing work experience as a subcategory of industry-academic cooperation education, the period of completing a course, the standard for selecting work experience contracts, and the contracting of standard agreements.
Part Ⅱ. The Present of Secondary Vocational Education in Korea
112
Based on the “Industrial Education Promotion Act” enacted and promulgated as Act No. 1403 on September 19, 1963, the “Promotion of Industrial Education and Industry-Academic Cooperation Act” defined the concept of “industry-academic cooperation” and specified the required contents in setting up the duties of the government and local autonomous governments, as well as related policies. The Act had great significance in that the definition of industry-academic cooperation was stipulated in the Act at a basic law level, and the government presented a policy and its related tasks for the promotion of industrial education and the acceleration of industry-academic cooperation.
Both Acts are meaningful in that they define industry-academic cooperation in secondary vocational education and stipulate its promotion, but they fail to function practically in supporting industry-academic cooperation in an actual school setting.
Thus, the Korean government has announced diverse policies with more-detailed tasks and budgets. The most typical examples are as follows:
First, it is noticeable that “The Policy for Advancement of High School Vocational Education” (Ministry o Education, Science and Technology, 2010a) announced by the National Employment Strategy Meeting displayed the willingness to reform all vocational high schools into “industry-academic cooperation-style” specialized high schools connected to industrial demand. Accordingly, a significant number of main tasks associated with the promotion of industry- academic cooperation were suggested in the policy (▲the establishment of a leading model for employment through Meister high schools (50), ▲the reorganization/ expansion into industry-academic cooperation- style specialized high schools, ▲the conversion of some vocational high schools, including comprehensive high schools, into general high schools, ▲the strengthening of the operation of a curriculum that reflects industrial demand, the establishment of the Employment First, Advancement to University Later system, etc.).
Second, “A Policy for the Strengthening of Employment First, Advancement to University Later and Open Employment in an Era of High School Graduates”
(Ministry of Eduction, Science and Technology, 2012b) announced by the Presidential Council on National Competitiveness was intended to create an environment where
high school graduates are stably employed and, based on the environment, to establish a competence-focused society. The policy mainly focuses on the creation of conditions for work experience and the expansion of teachers’ competence training in industrial settings in relation to the policy of industry-academic cooperation.
Third, “A Plan for the Introduction of a Korean-Version Work-Learning Paraell System” announced as an agenda by the Economic-Related Ministerial Meeting (2013) includes a pilot project for an apprenticeship system, considering the conditions in Korea. The plan prompted companies to organize intra-company training for the cultivation of manpower and enabled companies to try to create a situation for supporting financial resources.
2. The Infrastructure of Industry-academic Cooperation at the Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education Level
Employment support centers are a typical part of the infrastructure of industry- academic cooperation provided at the Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education level. Cities and provinces play a pivotal role in connecting schools and businesses, because each school finds it difficult to explore enterprises. They also take the lead in strengthening the employment capability of specialized high schools and carrying out employment monitoring. In general, they establish cooperative relations with the relative agencies, including the Regional Employment and Labor Administration and the Employment and Labor Center.
Part Ⅱ. The Present of Secondary Vocational Education in Korea
114
Source: Employment Support Center of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (2013)
Figure 6-1 ❙ Role/function of employment support centers under the Office of Education
3. The Infrastructure of Industry-academic Cooperation at the School Level
In general, independent divisions (for example, an industry-academic cooperation division, an employment support division, etc.) deal with the industry-academic cooperation of specialized high schools/Meister high schools. The divisions consist of a general manager and two or three teachers. About one or two employment support officers usually help schools to explore businesses. More specifically, one or two teachers are responsible for exploring the management of industry-academic cooperation business, while the rest of the teachers are in charge of managing best industrial instructors in schools. The problem is that those teachers have to handle the tasks while teaching like the other teachers do, so this puts a great burden on the teachers who deal with tasks related to industry-academic cooperation.
To solve the problem, the Ministry of Education led “A Project for Employment Capability Reinforcement of Specialized High Schools/Meister High Schools,” which includes a project for supporting human resources to provide education activities related
to industry-academic cooperation in school settings. In this context, an excellent industrial instructor means a person who has wide experience of technical knowledge in industrial settings and teaches a class on a part-time or full-time basis. An employment support officer means a person who is in charge of various industry-academic cooperation activities (exploring companies for employment, career counseling, support of work experience, follow-up service, etc.) for employment support of specialized high school/Meister high school students. It is known that the support system for manpower is very helpful to lead to the engagement of schools in industry-academic cooperation.