Plan to train 1,280 people by 2021 and 12,750 people by 2025
8 fields: future cars, digital healthcare, semiconductors, and
8 sectors including IoT home appliances, machinery, textiles, displays, and shipbuilding


Competition for global market dominance in new industries is intensifying, and the need for digital transformation in key domestic industries, such as manufacturing, is growing.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy confirmed eight areas of support for the project to 'Strengthen the Innovation Capacity of AI-Fusion Industrial Field Technical Personnel' to integrate AI technology into manufacturing sites: △Future Vehicles, △Digital Healthcare, △Semiconductors, △IoT Home Appliances, △Machinery, △Textiles, △Displays, and △Shipbuilding.

This project was planned as a sub-task of the "Korean New Deal" policy announced in June 2020 to foster innovative leaders through AI-integrated training for manufacturing workers. Starting with training 1,280 people in eight industrial fields this year, a total of 12,750 people will be trained by 2025.

The eight support areas were selected through an evaluation by industry, academia, and research experts from among 21 industrial fields received by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) in March and April of this year.

Because the convergence and synergy of industry-specific expertise and AI-related technologies is crucial, the project implementation organization was selected as a consortium that includes industry-specific associations and organizations that best understand the current state of the industry and educational needs, as well as private educational institutions with expertise in AI education.

The future automobile sector, one of the Big 3 new industries, will cultivate AI convergence personnel focusing on five areas requiring AI integration (autonomous driving, connectivity, eco-friendly electrification, vehicle reliability assessment, and automobile R&D verification) through cooperation with Hyundai Motor Company's training center, 'ENGV.'

In the case of the shipbuilding industry, which is experiencing a resurgence, including recently achieving the top spot in orders, the industry-academia cooperation group at Geoje University will support education in areas with high demand for AI convergence education, such as smart welding technology, welding quality inspection, and production management, to promote industrial innovation and strengthen competitiveness.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KIAT plan to continuously expand the scope of support by creating diverse innovation cases, such as industrial value chain advancement, focusing on eight fields and disseminating successful cases.

Hwang Su-seong, director general of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, “If we fail to respond to the trend of digital transformation, we will be eliminated,” adding, “We will strengthen our manufacturing capabilities, which are our strengths.” “We will focus on training AI technology professionals so that our industry can proactively respond to changes and enhance its competitiveness,” he said.