Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. announced Thursday it will set up an institute for training high school graduates.

The company said that the institution, which will be headed by the company’s chief technology officer Lee Yeong-man, will put high school graduates through a four-year training program for developing expertise in various heavy industry-related fields. The shipbuilder is also the country’s first large company to adopt a policy of giving equal treatment to high school and university graduates. 

The company will receive applications for the program from Sept. 21 until Oct. 7. Successful applicants will join the company on Jan. 1.

In the first year, the trainees will receive basic education in related areas, and training in different areas of the company’s operations. In the remaining three years, the trainees will build experience in working departments under the directions of designate mentors.

The announcement comes at a time when the government is pushing to provide wider opportunity for employment for high school graduates.

Local financial institutions have responded quickly to such pressures. Local banks including Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank have announced that they will set aside up to 13 percent of their annual recruitment quotas for high school graduates.

Along with banks, state-run companies are planning to address issues in their human resource management systems that are discriminatory to high school graduates to provide wider opportunities.

At a recent meeting with President Lee Myung-bak, the country’s largest business lobby group Federation of Korean Industries announced that 30 of the largest Korean firms will hire 35,000 high school graduates this year.

The figure is 12 percent larger than that recorded last year.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)