Cheongpodo Plus《Innovative Company Tour》Program is Effective

The Gangbuk Youth Startup Maru, managed and operated by the Kwangwoon University Industry-University Cooperation Center (Director Youngwook Jeong), held the 6th session of 'Innovative Company Tour,' the regular program of Gangbuk- Gu's Youth Challenge Support Project, “Gangbuk Youth Challenges Employment and Entrepreneurship Without Giving Up (hereinafter referred to as "Cheongpodo)" in various areas of Seongdong-Gu, Seoul on September 21, Thursday.

The Youth Challenge Support Project is a program by the Ministry of Employment to discover young people who have given up job seeking and to promote their participation in the labor market. Gangbuk-Gu was selected for this year's competition. The five-week short-term program, known as 'Cheongpodo,' was completed by a total of 30 participants over three sessions, and the five-month long-term program, 'Cheongpodo (Plus)' is being operated in two sessions with a goal of 50 participants.

'Innovative Company Tour' is a specialized program of Gangbuk-Gu to encourage job hunting. It is organized in the 4th week of each term, and visits companies or organizations in various fields for lectures and experiential programs. So far, they have explored cities such as Suwon, Anseong, Icheon, Incheon, and Paju, and this time, they explored Seongsoo-dong, where the Social Venture Valley was established.

The 1st session of Cheongpodo (Plus) took place from June to November, while the 2nd session started in July and will continue until December, and it is now about three months into the program marking the halfway point. Most of the participants had been unemployed for over six months and had not received any vocational training. However, there is a growing trend of participants beginning to engage in active job-seeking activities, including job applications and vocational training, and some have successfully found employment, showing positive outcomes.

Director Youngwook Jeong stated, "The programs conducted at Gangbuk Youth Startup Maru are differentiated from other organizations by tailoring the program to the participants' needs. We believe that when participants discover the hot topics of the labor market in regions that they are interested in, they’ll be self-motivated".