Companies at the country’s 16 technology complexes plan to support high-class vocational schools as part of the government’s efforts to perk up technical secondary education.

The Korea Technopark Association signed an agreement on Wednesday with the country’s 21 “Meister” high schools to provide students with on-site drills, field trips, internships and other assistance, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced.

The Meister high schools have been established since 2008 as one of President Lee Myung-bak’s core policies to cultivate a talented workforce and rein in worsening job and skill mismatches in the labor market.

With support from the government and enterprises, the vocational institutions offer students scholarships, dorm rooms and advantages in getting a job upon graduation.

They currently accommodate 3,600 students across the country specializing in electronics, energy, shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, semiconductors, medical equipment and other areas.

Under the deal, the technoparks will lay out curricula to train the students in the real field, donate equipment that is no longer used to the schools and provide mentoring, paid internships and hiring fairs, the ministry said.

“The program will help establish a vicious cycle going from high school to work then back to college,” the ministry said in a statement.

Korea has one of the highest rates of young adults completing high school and college among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development but overeducation has captured headlines in recent years due to the surging number of college graduates who are economically inactive.

“Reckless entrance into college mounts the people’s burden for private education and aggravates youth unemployment, bringing huge losses to households and the country alike,” President Lee said last year.

According to Statistics Korea, the figure neared 3 million in the first quarter of the year, up nearly 80 percent from around 1.6 million ten years ago.

Among this population are those who had graduated from two-year and four-year colleges or higher institutions. They do not fall into the “employed” nor “unemployed” categories but account for about 18 percent of the total economically inactive population.

Lee has touted the Meister schools as an answer to the phenomenon, saying they are “a fresh challenge in reforming our educational system” and will “foster human resources to open up Korea’s new future.”

Last month, a spate of Korean corporations and banks said they would hire more high school graduates, largely prompted by the administration’s drive to put professional expertise over academic background for job seekers.

“It is encouraging that businesses have recently begun to open its doors to high school graduates. The government will strive to make sure that such practices are widely spread to state-owned companies and other private businesses, including financial companies,” Lee said in this year’s National Liberation Day speech on Aug. 15.

The government plans to increase the number of the schools to 28 by 2012 and to 50 later on.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)