Development Strategies for the Curriculum of Private Vocational Education and Training Institutes

Private vocational education and training institutes (PVETIs) have contributed to the economic growth of Korea by generating human resources needed in the various manufacturing and service industries. However, the current generation of PVETIs face difficulties caused by the lack of support from the government and by the potential influx of foreign institutes into the Korean education and training market following its opening to the outside world. In order to solve these problems, the governmental departments jointly announced 'the Development Strategies for the Service Industry' on July 13th of 2001, and 'the Promotion Strategies for PVETIs' on October 23rd in the same year. These strategies include a policy to support PVETIs through such actions as the creation of professional HR institutes including PVETIs, the provision of a systematic basis for their independent development as well as active support from the government whenever needed. In order to promote these strategies, the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development is planning to improve the current conditions of PVETIs, along with those of other private institutes of education & tutoring, restricted by 「The Act relating to the Establishment and Operation of Private Education & Training Institutes and Private Tutoring」 and to establish a separate act (The Act relating to the Promotion and Support for Private Vocational Education & Training Institutes). The realization of the Development Strategies for PVETIs requires not only detailed strategies for its realization, but also well-prepared training courses by PVETIs. This study is an effort to demonstrate how to organize these training courses based on 「the Act relating to the Promotion and Support for PVETIs」, which will be enacted as part of the Development Strategies for PVETIs. Major contents of the research include a) an investigation of the actual conditions permitting PVEIS to operate training courses, through an analysis of lawful acts and systems relating to PVETIs and existing problems as well as potential ones that might occur after the new policy is introduced, b) an analysis and suggestions on how to support development strategies for training courses, c) the results of interviews with the owners of PVETIs and an analysis of their suggestions and demands to boost the development strategies for training courses, and finally d) suggestions for development strategies of PVETI training courses, which will be reflected in the act based on the result of this study. The study utilized such methods as analyses of domestic & foreign data and relevant literature, face to face interviews & surveys, and the operation of expert associations for the research