Hyundai Motor Group launches HINT program to train 500 young workers in future mobility

Hyundai Motor Group held the inaugural enrollment ceremony for the first cohort of HINT, a job-skills training program aimed at developing young talent, at its human resources development center in Gyeongju on Monday.

HINT is part of the K-New Deal Academy, a youth vocational training initiative jointly run by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in partnership with domestic companies. The program was created to help young people build job competencies and plan their careers by giving them hands-on exposure to the future mobility industry.

The curriculum runs across two tracks: "Embedded AI," which focuses on core technology skills for future mobility development, and "Manufacturing Intelligence," which covers digital transformation and smart-factory applications on the production floor. Participants will also take part in factory tours of Hyundai Motor Group's key production facilities, vehicle-based training sessions and special lectures by current employees.

The 500 trainees, drawn from seven regions across the country, will follow the enrollment ceremony with a three-day, two-night residential training session.

Hyundai Motor Group will run the first HINT cohort over the next three months, with more than 90 percent of the curriculum delivered outside the Seoul metropolitan area — in Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, Busan and other regional cities. The group said the program is designed to give young people in those regions access to professional, practical training and support the stable development of local talent.

Recruitment for the second cohort is planned for September.

Hyundai Motor Group President Sung Kim and Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon attended Monday's ceremony.

"The automotive industry is evolving around electric vehicles and software, and it is important to learn and grow in step with those changes," Sung said. "I expect this program will help participants build not only specialized knowledge in future mobility but also the problem-solving skills they will need on the job."

"The K-New Deal Academy combines young people's own efforts with support from the government and companies to help them grow," Kim said. "Just as our slogan — 'Youth grows with companies' — suggests, I hope our young people will leap higher through the Hyundai Motor Group Academy."