25 May 2016 at 9:00 am
Career advice in Korea
Korea’s youth unemployment reached the highest in 15 years in 2015, according to media reports. On 2 May, Education New Zealand’s Korea office and Kiwi Alumni Association organised a seminar to help New Zealand graduates to better understand how to gain employment and develop their careers at Korean conglomerates and foreign companies in Korea.
“This was such a valuable session for us. It’s really hard to find a good opportunity to connect with older established graduates, and to receive their advice about matters important to us – such as employment,” says Henry Shin, a seminar participant and graduate of a high school in New Zealand.
The seminar is expected to be one of many in a series aimed at giving practical and helpful advice for New Zealand-educated alumni who now live in Korea. The first seminar was delivered by HR managers from SK Construction, a subsidiary of a Korean conglomerate SK Group, and ASML, a Dutch semi-conductor company.
“New Zealand graduates do not always understand what qualities Korean companies are looking for or how they should approach the complicated employment process that Korean companies use to hire staff,” says ENZ’s Market Development Manager for Korea, Onnuri Lee.
“We hope that New Zealand-educated alumni can help fellow New Zealand-educated alumni to enter the Korean workforce, and develop better understanding and awareness of the strengths of alumni of New Zealand education.”
The Kiwi Alumni Association is a volunteer organisation managed and run by New Zealand-educated alumni living in Korea. It was established in 2014 with the aim of connecting New Zealand-educated alumni who are living in Korea. It organises social events and professional development activities.
For more information about the Kiwi Alumni Association, visit www.facebook.com/NZAAKorea or email korea@kiwialumni.com
