In its fifth policy report, titled “From Degrees to Experience: How South Korea Is Building a Bridge into the Labor Market for Young People,” the Iran–Korea Chamber of Commerce examines South Korea’s efforts to move young people from education into employment. Rather than recommending the Korean experience to Iran as a ready-made solution, the report tries to show which institutional practices could be useful for dialogue and for designing small, measured experiments in Iran.
Lesson One: See the Problem as Shared
At the center of the study is a shared question: How can education and training systems both respond to the changing needs of employers and give young people a credible first opportunity to demonstrate their skills? The report stresses that the answer to this question is not the same in Iran and Korea, but that each can learn from the other’s institutional experience.
Lesson Two: Let Employers Design Training
In 2026, South Korea launched the “K-New Deal” Academy. According to the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor, participating major companies design and run vocational training and related programs in their areas of expertise. The ministry has pointed to initiatives involving Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group, including training linked to company expertise and future mobility. The lesson for Iran is clear: the employer provides not only an internship or training place, but also practical content, mentoring, and exposure to workplace expectations.
In its proposed 2027 budget, the Korean government has proposed expanding the academy to 50,000 participants and allocating KRW 489.5 billion. But the report rightly warns that this is a proposal, not a final allocation or evidence of employment outcomes. It must also be distinguished from separate youth work-experience programs and from “K-Digital Training,” which focuses on advanced digital skills.
Lesson Three: Divide Roles Among Government, Business, and Chambers
The report emphasizes a division of responsibilities that is also worth studying for Iran: public authorities set policy objectives and financial arrangements; businesses identify skills needs and help design practical learning; and intermediary institutions, including chambers of commerce, can coordinate participation and reduce the cost of connecting young people with employers. This model could be a starting point for professional dialogue between Iranian and Korean institutions.
Lesson Four: Start with a Small Pilot
For Iran, the report proposes exploring a small, measurable pilot called the “Youth Work Experience Bridge,” potentially coordinated through chambers and sectoral associations. Such a scheme could bring together employers, education providers, and public institutions around short, supervised projects that respond to real business needs. The report states clearly that this is an analytical recommendation, not an existing bilateral program or an announced agreement with the Korean side.
Lesson Five: Without Evaluation, Do Not Judge Success by Enrollment
The report warns that the success of a training or work-experience program cannot be measured solely by enrollment or participant satisfaction. Evidence on the long-term employment impact and cost-effectiveness of the new Korean programs in 2026 remains limited. Therefore, the Iran–Korea Chamber of Commerce emphasizes evidence-based learning, independent evaluation, and adaptation to each country’s labor-market and institutional conditions.
Knowledge exchange could focus on how Korean programs attract employers, design project-based learning, support participants, ensure quality, and evaluate results. It is also important to examine safeguards against replacing regular employees with trainees, and methods for tracking subsequent employment, wages, and job retention.
The report’s conclusion for Iran is clear: the Korean experience is neither a prescription nor a model to copy.
What can be useful is structured dialogue, comparative research, and small, localized experiments—a path that links research to business practice and helps develop human capital and youth employment.
Source: Fifth policy report of the Iran–Korea Chamber of Commerce (October 2026). The report’s recommendations are analytical proposals and are not jointly agreed bilateral projects.
