[Opinion] Global Talent

“Korean university students, please study hard. As we are speaking, there many students in the U.S., China, India and Russia looking for high-class jobs in Korea’s world-class corporations,” is a warning that Korean large corporations are sending to Korean students.

Overseas degree holders have already occupied about 1,000 high-profile jobs at Samsung Electronics’ Korean headquarters. Many of them are from prestigious foreign universities such as India’s ITT and China’s Tsinghua University. They are “global talent” that are welcome to any company on the globe.

For the first time ever, this year, Samsung Electronics is employing college-graduates from the U.S. The admission for resumes ended in February, and work aptitude exams and interviews are planned for sometime in March. The plan is to hire hundreds of graduates from top American universities such as Harvard, Princeton and Stanford. A company official stated, “Not only did Korean-Americans and Korean students studying in the U.S. apply, but so did students of other nationalities. We plan to pick the best regardless of nationality.”

LG Electronics also plans to hold over 20 job fairs all over the world and employ about 300 technologically apt personnel. Hyundai and KIA Motors, POSCO, and SK Group are also actively seeking graduates from top universities overseas.

According to the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET), the majors of Korean universities do not give great help to graduates in performing their tasks. That was the result of a survey of workers in 20 key posts at semi-conductor, cellular phone, and electronic medical device companies.

In the case of the semi-conductor industry, the knowledge that graduates need in their major is at 3.9 out of a scale of five, but the average score of workers was 3.4. As a result, starting in the second half of this year, Samsung Electronics plans to give bonus points to applicants that received an Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea certificate along with their engineering education. They are asking universities to teach their students well.

Thomas Friedman, the author of “The World is Flat,” once said that the world’s major corporations are not after money but after brains. In other words, if anyone becomes a global talent, they can choose any job among the world’s top corporations. Knowledge of their major and language skills are not enough. Samsung Electronics official Chu Woo-sik says, “Talented personnel are progressive in that they continue to develop.” I wish universities and their students would do the same.

Lim Kyu-jin, Editorial Writer, mhjh22@donga.com