On the 7th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it signed a business agreement with Kia and AutoQ to promote vocational training for electric vehicle maintenance personnel at the 'Kia Osan Education Center' in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
As of last year, over 700,000 electric vehicles were registered in the country. In the past year alone, approximately 150,000 were newly registered, accounting for 9% of all newly registered vehicles. While the number of electric vehicles continues to rise, the maintenance personnel for these vehicles are not keeping pace. Based on last year's data, Kia's official vehicle management center, AutoQ, reported a shortage of over 500 maintenance personnel.
In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Kia, and AutoQ will begin specialized training for electric vehicle maintenance personnel through public-private collaboration starting in May.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor will fully support the training costs for trainees participating in the specialized training through the National Tomorrow Learning Card program. Kia will directly participate in designing the training curriculum for electric vehicle maintenance personnel and develop a program that can be immediately utilized in the field. Additionally, they plan to provide educational maintenance parts and finished vehicles, which are difficult for training institutions to acquire, free of charge.
AutoQ plans to give preference in hiring to those who complete this training program. Accordingly, graduates of the program will be treated as if they have about two years of maintenance experience.
Minister Kim Mun-soo said, "This agreement aims to systematically train maintenance personnel needed for the electric vehicle era through collaboration between the government and corporations," adding that he hopes this agreement will lead to training that nurtures talent desired in the industrial field, spreading to other industries.