On June 9th, a completion ceremony for the fourth batch of graduates of SSAFY (Samsung SW Academy for Youth) was held at Seoul’s Multicampus Center. The Vice Minister of Labor Park Hwa-jin and Samsung’s President Choi Yoonho attended the event to recognize the students’ hard work.

Amidst COVID-19 health concerns, the in-person event was capped at 25 persons, with the rest of the graduates attending the ceremony via live stream. Excitement was palpable as 240 students from Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju and Gumi center joined the virtual event to celebrate their successful completion of the course.

SSAFY, which is part of Samsung’s ambitious plan to invigorate the economy and generate more jobs, aims to provide the young generation with the key competencies for successful employment and expand Korea’s ICT ecosystem at large.

Samsung is closely cooperating with the Ministry of Employment and Labor for recruiting and training students and is leveraging the Ministry’s specialties in the job market to operate the program and support students’ careers.

□ SSAFY records remarkable employment rate of 68%

Out of 2,087 graduates of four rounds, 1,411 students are working in diverse fields, recording a cumulative employment rate of 68%. Since its launch in December 2018, SSAFY has strived to enable students to acquire promising, knowledge-based jobs and will continue on its achievements.

Many of the program graduates have landed a job in some 480 different tech and finance conglomerates such as Naver, Kakao, Samsung, Shinsegae I&C and more.

Shinsegae I&C is in fact one of the companies that are offering an exclusive hiring track for SSAFY graduates. The company has been hiring 50 SSAFY graduates every year throughout all four batches, recognizing their competencies.

SSAFY is also known for its curriculum that nurtures skilled developers regardless of their college majors. In fact, 455 employed graduates which make up 32% of all employed, are non-SW majors who were able to change course in their career path.

□ Employers give hiring preference to SSAFY graduates

As more and more alumni showcase their proficiency in the workplace, employers have started to give preference to applicants who have completed SSAFY. The number of such employers have grown to 80 from what used to be 20 after the first year of SSAFY operation.

Eighty companies including banks, Hyundai, Seegene and many other acclaimed firms are now exempting SSAFY graduates from their regular screening procedure and coding test and have even created a designated recruitment track.

‎“I majored Sociology in college and also have a minor in software engineering but I simply wasn’t good enough,” said Lee Chang-geun, a fourth graduate of SSAFY. “This led me to apply for the program, and there, I was able to work on real-life skills that would help me land a job.” Lee is now working at Hyundai Autoever as a SW developer.

□ “SSAFY is strengthening national competitiveness in the SW industry”

“We will give full support to nurture creative talents with future-proof problem-solving skills,” commented Vice Minister Park, congratulating the students.

“SSAFY alumni are further opening the door of employment for the following graduates with their recognized expertise in the field,” also commented President Choi, adding that “Samsung Electronics will continue to support youth by providing more educational opportunities.”

Other renowned figures across politics and business also sent their congratulatory words through a video message:

“All of you here today are our hope and our future. Show the world everything you’ve learned during your time at SSAFY”

- Lee Yongbin, lawmaker of Democratic Party

“Take what you’ve learned in SSAFY and use it to propel yourself toward a successful career.

- Yoon Hee-suk, lawmaker of People Power Party

“In the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, contents will emerge as a force of development and growth. All the hardworking graduates of SSAFY represent our hope for the future.”

- Myungsoo Kim, Vice Mayor of Science of Daejeon City

“Do as you have learned in SSAFY and you’ll be scared of nothing in this world.”

- Son Jung-hyun, CEO of Shinsegae I&C.

□ An all-inclusive package with education, scholarships and career support

Samsung SW Academy for Youth is a year-long course that offers intensive training for eight hours a day which amounts to 1,600 hours in total. Through a comprehensive course that also includes cooperative projects with fellow students, trainees evolve into a readily-equipped developers who can enter the job place immediately.

Also, SSAFY holds exclusive job fairs and company presentation to let students acquire practical information about jobs. The program also operates a job center that provides students thorough mentorships on career and job interviews and information on new openings.

Moreover, all students enrolled are given a monthly grant of 1M KRW which allows them to focus on their academic progress.

Currently 750 students are have been enrolled as the fifth batch since January, and 900 students are slated to enter in July.

Starting with the class starting from July, SSAFY will set up a new campus in the city of Busan and plans to expand it even further to reach youth in other regions.

□ Samsung’s CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’

Under the overarching CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Samsung is conducting various programs focusing on education for future generations.

The programs includes local educational initiatives that target specific regional educational needs, and global programs such as Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and Samsung Innovation Campus.

Also, as part of an effort to thrive together, Samsung is sharing its industry know-how and expertise through Smart Factory, C-Lab Outside program and more.