Korea Tech University hosts summit to raise quality of work-learning program training

The Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Korea University of Technology and Education hosted the "2026 Work-Learning Parallel Leadership Summit," bringing together corporate field instructors and education trainers to improve the quality of on-site training under the country's work-learning parallel program.

According to the university, the two-day event runs Monday through Tuesday at the Grand Mercure Hotel at Dragon City in Yongsan, Seoul. The summit was organized to strengthen the capabilities of education trainers dedicated to work-learning parallel companies and to expand exchanges between Level 1 corporate field instructors and education trainers. About 70 people attended, including officials from the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and related organizations.

On the first day, participants shared updates on program improvements and the current state of operations, followed by a badge presentation ceremony for Level 1 corporate field instructors and a session on innovative practices. A roundtable between education trainers and corporate field instructors then took up ways to narrow the gap between training programs and actual industrial workplaces, along with on-site challenges and proposals for system reform.

The second day will feature a recap of the roundtable discussions and an introduction to the future direction of corporate trainer development education. Planned improvements include an AI-based overhaul of the Level 1 and Level 2 curricula, upgrades to the education portal's learning management system, the introduction of an AI chatbot, and the rollout of microlearning modules and mentor-instructor programs.

The corporate trainer development program is a structured curriculum designed to build the teaching, assessment and training management skills of corporate field instructors and human resources development managers at companies participating in the work-learning parallel program. It offers Level 1, 2 and 3 courses, continuing education and an HRD manager track, delivered through a combination of online sessions and regional in-person classes.

"This leadership summit is a forum where key personnel on the work-learning parallel front line share policy directions and best practices and discuss ways to make on-site training more effective," said Lee Gyu-man, head of the university's Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation. "We will continue to support efforts to deepen the expertise of corporate trainer development education and raise the quality of training at work-learning parallel sites."