Korea SMEs and Startups Agency to Train 60,000 AI Specialists for SMEs by 2030

Vision Announced to Develop Future Talent to Lead the AX Era

The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency will train 60,000 AI specialists for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups by 2030.

The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency said on November 6 that it had announced a new vision to lead talent development for SMEs and startups in the AI era at a ceremony at its training institute in Ansan. It also opened a Manufacturing AI Education Center that day.

Established in 1982, the agency's training institute will step up efforts to develop talent in AI in line with the vision. As the foundation of competitiveness on manufacturing floors rapidly shifts from skills and experience to data and AI, the institute will focus its accumulated expertise in talent development on AI to accelerate AI transformation (AX) at SMEs.

Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME)

The agency set the institute's vision as "a learning hub for developing future talent to lead AX at SMEs and startups." Reflecting its belief that AX at these businesses begins with talent development, the vision expresses its commitment to becoming a learning hub where companies can confidently entrust their employees for training.

To that end, the agency set a goal of training 60,000 AI specialists for SMEs and startups by 2030 and announced a mid- to long-term roadmap built around three strategic priorities: developing specialists to lead AX, strengthening job skills through field-centered training, and expanding its public role to promote balanced regional development.

The Manufacturing AI Education Center, the first step in putting the vision into practice, combines AI technology with existing training infrastructure and comprises a learning hub, a vision practice room, an AX experience zone, and an integrated control room and showroom. Trainees can experience and practice using AI in manufacturing settings, deepen their understanding of manufacturing AI technologies, and build the skills to apply them on the job. The agency will run the center on a trial basis through the end of the year to review its courses and operating system, and plans to launch regular courses next year based on the results.

"Today's vision announcement and the opening of the Manufacturing AI Education Center mark the starting point for shifting the focus of talent development at SMEs from experience and skills to data and AI," said Seokjin Kang, chairman of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency. "We will step up hands-on training so that employees at SMEs can put AI to use directly in the workplace, and actively support AX at SMEs and startups."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.