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Busan Metropolitan City Launches Full-Scale “Social and Solidarity Economy Youth Work Experience Pilot Program” for 189 Unemployed Young People

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Park Heong-joon, announced that it will implement the “Social and Solidarity Economy Youth Work Experience Pilot Program,” with a total budget of KRW 2.9 billion, to provide unemployed young people with practical experience in the social and solidarity economy sector and support their stable entry into the labor market.

This initiative was developed in response to the ongoing difficulties young people face in securing employment. By connecting social and solidarity economy organizations with youth, the program will provide field-centered work experience opportunities while helping participants strengthen professional competencies and build career pathways.

The city also expects the program to contribute to the revitalization of the local social and solidarity economy by increasing young people’s interest in the sector and supporting workforce management within related organizations.

The program will first recruit and select participating organizations. Young applicants will then choose their preferred organizations and submit applications, after which interviews will be conducted to finalize matches between organizations and participants.

Eligible organizations include village enterprises established under the Village Enterprise Promotion and Support Act, cooperatives established under the Framework Act on Cooperatives, and social and solidarity economy-related nonprofit corporations and organizations employing fewer than 10 people.

A total of 189 unemployed young people residing in Busan, aged between 19 and 39 and not enrolled in the four major social insurance programs, will be selected for participation.

Selected participants will carry out job-based practical assignments for five months, from July through November, at village enterprises, cooperatives, and social and solidarity economy-related nonprofit corporations and organizations.

Participants will receive monthly wages of up to KRW 2.34 million based on a 40-hour workweek. In addition, support will be provided for the employer’s share of the four major social insurance contributions, along with various programs such as pre-employment training and a youth manager mentoring program.

In particular, the program will be divided into “Employment-Oriented” and “Job-Creation-Oriented” tracks to reflect young people’s career exploration and entrepreneurial interests.

Employment-Oriented interns will account for up to 90 percent of total participants and will build practical skills by performing work-centered duties within social and solidarity economy organizations.

Job-Creation-Oriented interns will account for at least 10 percent of participants and will be matched in teams of two to four with organizations that possess new job-creation concepts or with entrepreneurship support organizations such as social economy support centers.

These participants will be responsible for planning, developing, and testing new occupations linked to solving community issues, including roles such as Integrated Care Coordinators and Housing Energy Efficiency Assessors.

To ensure that participants gain meaningful work experience and growth opportunities rather than being limited to simple support tasks, the city plans to operate a monitoring system that includes counseling and grievance handling, while also providing close support to help participants adapt to workplace environments.

Busan Metropolitan City will recruit participating organizations through June 24 via the Busan Economic Promotion Agency, the program’s operating institution.

Organizations wishing to participate may review the official announcement on the websites of Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Economic Promotion Agency and submit the required application documents by June 24. Selection results are scheduled to be announced on June 29.

Recruitment of participating youth will take place from June 29 to July 3. Applicants may select their preferred organizations through the Ilmoa System announcement and submit application documents through Employment24.

Interviews will be conducted from July 6 to July 8, and final matching between organizations and youth participants is expected to be completed by July 10.

Further details are available through the Busan Social Economy Support Center website at https://bsec.or.kr/ or by telephone at 600-1393.

Kim Bong-cheol, Assistant Mayor of Digital Economy Office, stated, “This pilot program is a mutually beneficial work-experience model that provides young people with opportunities to gain practical experience and strengthen their capabilities in the social and solidarity economy sector, while supplying social and solidarity economy enterprises with talented young individuals who can bring new vitality to their organizations.”

He added, “We hope this initiative will serve as an opportunity to secure new growth momentum for the local social and solidarity economy ecosystem.”