Youth participating in work-study programs are more likely to remain in their regions five years later compared to those who did not receive training. This trend is particularly significant in areas at high risk of population decline, suggesting that work-study programs can enhance both youth employment retention and regional settlement.
According to a report published on September 24 by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, 66% of young people who participated in work-study training were still employed in the same region five years later. In contrast, the retention rate for a comparison group that did not participate in the program was 56%, indicating a 10 percentage point advantage for participants.
The analysis focused on 30,872 trainees under 40 who completed work-study training between 2014 and 2019. The comparison group consisted of 69,279 employees who joined the same companies in the same years, matched by gender, birth year, work region, company size, and industry.
Differences in employment retention were also noted. The employment retention rate for participants five years later was 86%, compared to 81% for non-participants, a 5 percentage point difference. Among those who maintained employment, 76% of participants remained in the same region, while only 69% of non-participants did, marking a 7 percentage point gap.
The regional retention effect for youth trained in rural areas was significant, with 75% of participants still working in those areas after five years, 8 percentage points higher than the comparison group at 67%. The rate of participants moving to the metropolitan area was 11%, compared to 16% for the comparison group.
Notably, the settlement effect was evident even in areas classified as at risk of extinction. In eight regions identified as high-risk areas—Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Chungbuk, Chungnam, Gangwon, and Busan—participants showed higher retention rates. Six of these regions recorded increases of over 10 percentage points compared to the national average.
The highest increase was observed in Jeonnam, with a 14 percentage point rise, followed by Gangwon and Gyeongbuk, each with a 13 percentage point increase. The researchers noted that these regions are also among those with high extinction risk indices. Excluding Jeju, all 16 cities and provinces in the country had higher retention rates for work-study participants compared to the comparison group.
However, when moving regions, a trend toward metropolitan concentration persisted. An analysis of 26,613 individuals who remained employed five years later showed that the highest retention rates were in the regions where they received training. However, those who moved tended to relocate to Gyeonggi and Seoul, with low rates of movement from metropolitan areas to rural regions.
The researchers concluded that “long-term training experiences through work-study programs act as an ‘anchor’ that keeps youth in the local labor market.” They recommended prioritizing training resources for high-risk extinction areas and supporting regional settlement immediately after training completion, along with designing training programs tailored to local industrial structures.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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