'Talent raised by Gangwon, living and working in Gangwon'
Gangwon Anchor Center connects local companies with young job seekers
One of the top priorities of Gangwon Province's ninth elected administration under Governor U Sang-ho is nurturing and attracting talent and encouraging young people to put down roots in the region. To that end, the provincial government and its municipalities have been drafting and implementing a range of youth-friendly policies.
A key focus is drawing skilled local talent into Gangwon-based companies. The Gangwon Anchor Center held an event Tuesday at Kangwon National University's 60th Anniversary Hall, together with Gangwon Technopark and the university's anchor project team and industry-academia cooperation foundation. The event, titled "Connecting Youth and Companies, Hiring the Future," brought local employers and job seekers together under one roof.
The event was designed to match the hiring needs of local companies with the employment aspirations of young people in the region, providing students and recent graduates with job information, recruitment details and opportunities — all aimed at strengthening the foundation for local employment and long-term residency.
Twenty companies met with 200 young people, including current university students and recent graduates.
The program featured growth-strategy presentations by Gangwon-based firms including The Pickt, agricultural corporation Bat and Hugel, followed by a talk show on the theme of "youth settling in the region, companies growing into the future." The companies shared their experiences, key roles and ideal candidate profiles to give young attendees a clearer picture of what working for a local firm looks like.
A recruitment consultation session followed, with local companies from fields including medical, biotech and ICT on hand to provide practical hiring information covering key positions, recruitment plans and working conditions.
Consultations combined pre-arranged matches — based on students' areas of interest and company needs — with on-site sessions. Based on the results and company demand, organizers plan to link the consultations to internship programs run by Kangwon National University's industry-academia cooperation foundation, creating a pipeline from consultation to internship to employment.
The event was organized as a follow-up to discussions within G-Unity, a regional industry-academia-research cooperation network operated by the Gangwon Anchor Center, with the aim of turning inter-agency collaboration proposals into concrete projects. Practical consultations within G-Unity had already identified directions for joint programming among the Gangwon Anchor Center, Gangwon Technopark and Kangwon National University, and the parties have since continued to discuss potential areas of cooperation and priority fields.
The Gangwon Anchor Center also conducted a survey on young people's intentions to settle in the region and the factors they consider important in doing so. The findings will serve as baseline data for improving future programs that support local talent employment and long-term residency.
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