Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy industry policy bureau head Park Jae-young speaks during a forum at the Westin Josun Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

The government will invest 22.4 billion won ($18.1 million) to foster 2,233 skilled professionals in the automotive industry, as part of efforts to underpin a future growth driver in need of a stable supply of highly trained professionals with knowledge and experience in the field.

The long-term, age-tailored program will encompass undergraduate students, current employees and retired former workers. They will be trained to develop high-tech, eco-friendly vehicles and set up and manage transport infrastructure.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it held a forum attended by automotive industry officials, academic experts and state-run and private research institutes at the Westin Josun Seoul.

The 22.4 billion won figure is more than double the 10.5 billion won invested last year to train 1,100 automotive experts. The ministry plans to continue increasing the investment over the next few years to raise the number of skilled workers to 30,000 by 2030.

The program participants will be able to get hands-on, on-site experience at car manufacturing plants.

The government will help businesses reorganize their growth models and set up business models integrating manufacturing and other user services.

The ultimate goal, the ministry said, is to help firms develop human resources programs that can meet market demands.

"The program seeks to train not only young students but also senior workers to help advance the industry's transition," a ministry official said.

"We will continue to establish programs in cooperation with research institutes and universities to help businesses find workers ready to make productive results."

The ministry's move is in line with a similar program set up by the presidential transition committee to nurture highly skilled employees in the semiconductor industry, which is expected to be short 30,000 workers by 2030.