With the need to expand the foundation of the software ecosystem at the national level, Samsung is supporting the cultivation of domestic software talent.

On the 13th, Samsung held the entrance ceremony for the 8th class of 'SSAFY' at the Seoul Campus of the 'Samsung Software Academy For Youth (SSAFY)' in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The entrance ceremony for the 8th class of SSAFY, held at the Seoul Campus, was attended by Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Kwon Ki-sup, People Power Party lawmaker Um Tae-young, Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung, Samsung Electronics Home Appliances Business President Lee Jae-seung, and 100 trainees. In addition, 1,050 trainees from the four campuses in Daejeon, Gwangju, Gumi, and Bu-Ul-Gyeong participated both online and offline.

1,150 students enrolled in the 8th cohort across five campuses nationwide. SSAFY, which had been conducting entirely online education since November 2020 due to COVID-19, will also be holding offline classes starting in July. Including the 7th cohort, which began training in January of this year, the program provides software education to approximately 2,300 students annually.

The Seoul and Gwangju campuses, which conduct specialized IoT education, have established laboratories equipped with the latest 3D printers and other equipment, allowing trainees to directly implement the software projects they are working on on the hardware. The Gumi Campus, which conducts specialized software training for mobile devices, has additionally equipped devices using various operating systems, providing a practical training environment where trainees can directly test the code they create on various devices.

Vice Minister Kwon Ki-seop of the Ministry of Employment and Labor emphasized, "I hope the 8th cohort of students will grow into developers who lead our country's industries," adding, "The government will also widely expand successful public-private cooperation models like SSAFY."

Lee Jae-seung, President of Samsung Electronics’ Home Appliances Business, stated, "As digital transformation driven by software accelerates across all aspects of our lives, corporate competitiveness depends on securing talent," adding, "I will support all of you as you begin the SSAFY program, which will be a major turning point in your lives."
Meanwhile, 'SSAFY' is a CSR program implemented by Samsung as part of the 'Economic Revitalization and Job Creation Plan' announced in 2018 to expand the foundation of the domestic IT ecosystem and enhance the employment competitiveness of young people. Samsung is helping young people preparing for employment by closely cooperating with the Ministry of Employment and Labor across all areas, including trainee selection, training operation, and job placement support.

'SSAFY', which began in December 2018, has seen 3,678 graduates up to the 6th cohort, with 2,770 of them finding employment, resulting in a 75% employment rate. Graduates have found employment at various companies in the IT and financial sectors, including Samsung Electronics, Kakao, Naver, LG Uplus, Lotte Information & Communication, Shinsegae I&C, Hyundai AutoEver, Hyundai Mobis, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, and NH Nonghyup Bank.

At the online job fair held last June, a record-breaking 91 companies, including Kookmin Bank, E-Mart, Hyundai AutoEver, and Com2uS, participated and conducted company introductions and on-site interviews for trainees.