Finding a Path to Cultivate Dreams and Hope Through Suwon City Career Camp

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Preparing for the future and planning a career path while living in society is not merely a matter for students or schools alone. It is the responsibility and duty of society to present diverse career paths so that young people can unleash their infinite potential. This is even more true in a fiercely competitive society. People must also be equipped with the understanding that pursuing higher education is not the only way to prepare for the future. They should also come to realize that, depending on aptitude, interest, and ability, students can be developed into talented specialists through professional education. To this end, Suwon City has been taking the lead for over 10 years. We visited the site where Suwon City provides various support projects for vocational high school students, enabling them to find dreams and hope. <Editor's Note>

◇Suwon City Career Camp Shows the Way for Vocational High School Students

"Thanks to the vocational high school career camp, I discovered various paths toward my dream."

This is the impression of Student A, who participated in the career camp that Suwon City began first nationally and has continued for 10 years.

Student A, a first-year student at Hanbbom High School, a vocational high school, was able to resolve his concerns about an uncertain career path after experiencing a two-day career camp in late March.

In the process of forming a team with friends and establishing their own rules, he was able to understand each team member's disposition and personality, and the time spent acquiring practical information essential for those who chose vocational high school, such as the Work-Study program, was also beneficial.

In particular, a program in which students create a newspaper under the theme "A News Article About My Future Self" provided an opportunity to think specifically about plans for the future.

He said, "When I initially imagined the future, I had never given concrete thought to specific action plans, so I was overwhelmed at first. However, by reflecting on how to express my thoughts in writing, I was able to establish an objective direction for my dreams," and added, "After finishing the career camp, I returned home and had a serious conversation with my parents about designing my future together."

B, a first-year student at Suwon Information Science High School, said, "Even though I came to vocational high school because I have a desired career, I felt frustrated because I lacked information about the profession and didn't know much about social life," and continued, "Through the career camp, I got to know myself better, grew closer to my friends, and took various classes about my school and my desired career, realizing that there are many different paths and methods available."

She added, "I am very grateful for the career camp that taught me, someone who had many questions about how to live, to take a good path forward."

On the 17th afternoon, Suwon City held the "2023 Vocational High School Career Camp Final Report Meeting" at Suwon City Hall's Grand Hall.

The meeting featured reports on this year's career camp progress, presentations of student testimonials, and awards for outstanding students. Various experiences like those of Students A and B resonated with attending students.

Lee Jae-jun, Suwon Special City Mayor, attended to encourage the students and said, "Since Suwon City started this program first nationally and other metropolitan local governments have benchmarked it, I will refine and invest in the program so that it can be implemented more carefully," and added, "Although the job market is undergoing dramatic changes, Suwon City will firmly support you so that you can find what you want to do and continuously take on challenges."

◇Started First Nationally, Developed into Career, Reminder, and Leap Camps

The vocational high school career camp is a project that Suwon City has been conducting for the 10th consecutive year, having started it first nationally. Hosted by Suwon City and Gyeonggi Province Office of Education, and organized by the Suwon Chamber of Commerce, this year all students from 8 vocational high schools in the Suwon area participated.

The career camp began in 2014. To instill a correct view of vocations in young people entering vocational high schools, the program initially started with first-year students from three schools: Suwon Information Science High School, Suwon Computer Girls High School, and Samilday Commercial High School.

As the career camp, in which students explore themselves and their career paths, gained positive response, the program expanded to 8 schools from 2016, two years later.

Then, from 2019, second-year students were included as participants in the career camp, launching reminder career education, and this year, the program expanded to include third-year students as well.

All 5,911 students from the 8 vocational high schools in Suwon participated in the career camp, opening a new horizon for support for vocational high school students.

Originally, the career camp was conducted as a residential camp, but after COVID-19, it was changed to class-based programs held at each school.

Even though the programs are held in familiar schools and classrooms, the educational content is far from familiar. First and second-year students receive 14 hours of instruction over two days, while third-year students receive 7 hours of instruction in one day, with all content carefully structured focusing on career exploration.

First, the career camp for first-year students begins on day one with a personality assessment. This is followed by camp introduction and team formation, followed by motivation-building time through games to build rapport, and a time to reflect on personality and values through pictograms.

After learning about various systems for vocational high school students such as "Work First, Study Later," the Work-Study program, and NCS (National Competency Standards), students also learn how to communicate through empathy.

On day two, students explore their self-esteem through scenes from familiar movies, have a time to present their dreams, establish customized employment strategies, set practical goals, and create a challenge box containing their planned actions.

Second-year students participate in the reminder camp. Through team-building processes for team-based activities, students experience the importance of group activities and collaboration.

Subsequently, individual mentoring is conducted through vocational type assessments, and teaching materials such as drawing a life clock and creating a future employee ID are used to help students understand the new job world. This is followed by "creative thinking time" where students create their own assets using design thinking. On day two, students learn about business organization structure, time management planning, and goal and roadmap setting in an engaging manner, and then draw their own life graph.

Third-year students, who are about to graduate, participate in the leap camp. They reflect on their three years of vocational high school life, check their current situation, and strengthen their passion as they prepare for a new beginning.

They also take time to think about the differences between a company and themselves through perspective-taking exercises such as "If I were the president," and learn efficient financial planning such as living for a month on their first salary.

◇Suwon City Supports Employment of Vocational High School Students Through Customized Support

Suwon City is implementing various support projects to enable vocational high school students to showcase their strengths through employment rather than pursuing higher education.

These include placement of dedicated job counselors (counselors) at vocational high schools, on-site employment special lectures, practical interview clinics, and labor rights education—covering all necessary skills from employment and beyond.

In particular, Suwon City and vocational high school institutions communicate actively to provide customized support. To this end, regular roundtable discussions are held where schools, the Suwon Chamber of Commerce, the Suwon Job Center, and corporate organization representatives collaborate.

The practical interview clinic held at Hanbbom High School and Samilday Industrial High School from the 4th to the 7th of last month was also part of the employment support project for vocational high school students.

Consultants from the Suwon Job Center directly provided practical information such as resume clinic and interview skills, and also conducted mock interviews reflecting recent interview trends. Through this process, students naturally acquired knowledge about appropriate attire and behavior during interviews.

As a result, students receive help with career planning and confidence, enabling successful employment, while local businesses can secure talented employees. As the competitiveness of talent in the Suwon region strengthens, businesses can also continue to grow, creating a virtuous cycle.

The effectiveness of these support projects is demonstrated by the high employment rate of vocational high schools in the Suwon area. In 2021, the employment rate of Suwon vocational high schools was 65.2%, which is more than 10% higher compared to the national average of 55.4% and Gyeonggi Province's 51.5%.

Last year (2022), the employment rate of students from 8 vocational high schools in Suwon rose to 67.7%, significantly higher than the national average of 57.8% and Gyeonggi Province's 54.8%.

Mayor Lee Jae-jun said, "Suwon City's various support policies will serve as a priming pump to help, even in small ways, with the career paths of vocational high school students," and added, "I hope vocational high school students will become leaders of future Suwon and lead the city in various fields including the economy."