The youth internship program for SMEs, which provides support for young people to be employed as regular workers after their internship at SMEs, will be expanded to cover 50,000 beneficiaries this year.

The youth internship program for SMEs is a program that provides wage subsidies to SMEs, etc., which newly hire young people, with the intention of encouraging youth job creation.

If an SME offers an internship opportunity to a young person, 50% of the promised wages (up to 800,000 won a month) are subsidized during the internship period. And if the young intern is converted to regular-worker status and kept in employment for at least seven months thereafter, a wage subsidy of 650,000 won a month is provided additionally for six months.

* (Internship period) 6 months for SMEs with fewer than 50 permanent employees; 4 months for those with 50~99 permanent employees; and 3 months for those with 100 permanent employees or more

The youth internship program for SMEs, started to reduce youth unemployment in the wake of the global economic crisis of 2009, has created more than 30,000 jobs every year since its introduction.

* No. of interns hired (persons) : 31,150 in 2009 → 29,554 in 2010 → 32,451 in 2011 → 37,455 by Dec. 2012

The program is viewed as having helped young people settle into jobs with more than 80% of interns converted to regular status after their internship.

* Conversion rate (%): 85.9 in 2009 → 90.1 in 2010 → 88.5 in 2011

Youth unemployment is expected to get worse this year due to global economic uncertainty, etc. So the government has decided to expand the program so that 50,000 young people, up by 10,000 from last year (40,000 beneficiaries), will be able to participate this year.

Meanwhile, the relevant regulations have been improved to make them more youth-friendly with the aim of enabling more young people to work at superior SMEs.

For a start, the eligibility requirements have been relaxed to allow long-term unemployed youths, etc., who have difficulty in entering the labor market to take part in the program regardless of their pervious job experience.

* Those vulnerable groups include long-term unemployed youths who have been searching for a job for six months or longer, youths who want to find work in an industry different from the one in which they were previously employed, and young people from households entitled to receive basic livelihood security benefits.

For small giants* preferred by young people and having high growth potential, the maximum number of interns who can be hired by each enterprise will be raised by 10%.

* In Oct. 2012, the relevant government agencies jointly picked about 15,000 small giants after taking into account each enterprise's history of delayed payments, credit rating, whether it has ever been selected as an outstanding SME, and so on.

** Maximum number of interns: 30% of the number of permanent employees for SMEs with 5~9 employees; 25% for those with 10~49 employees; and 20% for those with 50 employees or more

Moreover, the government will ensure that young people can make a smooth school-to-work transition by moving along a series of steps - on-the-job experience/training while in school → internship after graduation (prospective graduates) → regular employment.

To that end, enterprises participating in government programs targeting employed youths, such as the on-the-job experience program and the project to foster specialized high schools that meet the needs of SMEs, will also be allowed to participate in the youth internship program for SMEs.

Unemployed young people aged 15~29 and SMEs with five permanent employees or more are eligible to participate in the youth internship program for SMEs.

Any young person or enterprise that wants to participate can easily apply through the relevant website(www.work.go.kr/intern/).

A total of 128 project operators nationwide, including companies, employers' organizations and job placement agencies, will actively match up young people who want to work at good SMEs with SMEs seeking passionate young talents.

"SMEs which boast a level of technology and working conditions close to large companies' are waiting for young talents with passion and potential," said Park Jong-gil, the Director General of MOEL's Manpower Policy Bureau.

"Through the youth internship program for SMEs, we will help young people to fully exert their abilities and pursue their dreams at excellent SMEs."

*Government press release (January 10)