Gov`t, biz to foster 2 million IT manpower

The government and business circles will join forces to set up a plan to foster 2 million talents specializing in information technology (IT) by 2010.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said Wednesday that it has decided to establish the plan after consultations with related government agencies such as the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and report it to the council on strengthening the national competitiveness to be held at the end of this month or next month.

In order to churn out 200,000 IT manpower each year by 2010, the federation will give education to non-IT majors at universities and soldiers and also look for ways for efficient job trainings on IT for graduates.

Particularly, FKI plans to carry out surveys on the demand for IT manpower for each industry and adopt specific action plans for systematic talent cultivation, officials said.

Park Won-Jae parkwj@donga.com