KOTRA to train 10,000 AI-savvy trade professionals by 2030

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) will train 10,000 young trade professionals capable of conducting overseas market research and export marketing using AI by 2030. The program goes beyond classroom instruction — KOTRA plans to connect youth with export companies for real-world work experience and expand its support to cover overseas employment and the international expansion of youth-led businesses.

KOTRA said it held a youth growth support review meeting Wednesday at its headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, chaired by President Kang Kyung-sung, to discuss the initiative.

The plan divides youth support into three stages: "leap," "experience" and "overseas expansion." Participants first receive training in trade, investment and AI, then gain hands-on experience at export companies, before moving on to employment or taking their startups into overseas markets.

Earlier, on Thursday, KOTRA met with 30 youth interns and university-industry cooperative trainees to hear about the difficulties they face in finding jobs and what support they need.

Participants said it has become harder for young job seekers to build their first career, as industries have moved away from labor-intensive operations and companies increasingly prefer experienced hires. At the same time, they called for more opportunities to gain practical experience at export companies, noting that young people hold a competitive edge in AI use and foreign language skills.

KOTRA will first expand its training programs aimed at building trade and AI capabilities among young people.

The agency will continue running about 200 youth internships annually and maintain its university-industry cooperative field training program in partnership with regional technical universities. A total of 450 participants completed the field training program through August this year.

KOTRA will also scale up its AI trade talent development project, which launched in 2022. The agency aims to produce more than 5,600 AI trade professionals by the end of this year and grow that number to 10,000 by 2030.

Twenty AI trade support centers across the country and regional universities will serve as training hubs. Participants will learn to create overseas promotional content and write market reports using generative AI and other tools. The curriculum is practice-oriented, covering everything from identifying potential buyers and markets to digital marketing via SNS.

KOTRA will also give trainees the chance to consult directly with overseas buyers — moving beyond job preparation to let participants experience firsthand how trade operations actually work.

KOTRA will particularly strengthen programs that match young people with companies. AI trade professionals will be paired with small and medium-sized export enterprises to carry out digital overseas marketing on their behalf.

Young participants gain practical work experience they can present during job applications, while companies get access to youth talent with AI and foreign language skills for their overseas marketing efforts.

KOTRA will also run a mentoring program connecting youth interns at the agency with export advisory specialists, and plans to expand opportunities for interns to participate directly in overseas trade fairs and export consultation events.

At the overseas expansion stage, KOTRA will broaden its support beyond employment to include youth-led startups.

Alongside the K-Move program, which supports young Koreans seeking jobs abroad, KOTRA will leverage its network of 132 overseas offices to help young companies enter international markets.

KOTRA will also use the Korea Startup Program run by Invest Korea, its foreign investment attraction unit, to help young startups attract overseas investment. The agency has also decided to increase the share of youth companies participating in regional business clubs it operates jointly with local governments.

"Young people are talented professionals with outstanding AI and foreign language skills," Kang said. "We will support them so they can put those capabilities to use, get matched with companies, and grow into the driving force of Korea's export scene."