Located in Suwon, the Partnership Academy offers a host of opportunities for employees at our first- and second-tier major partner companies.

The courses are taught by experts including professors, with topics ranging from leadership and global quality to production, quality maintenance and sales. Out of the 500 or so courses, 70% involve practical training for partner employees to develop the functional skills they can apply to their careers. And by gathering feedback from our partners, whether it’s by visiting partner sites or through other methods, we continue to develop and improve the curricula further to customize the courses to our partners’ needs. Depending on the course, classes are available at the Academy in Suwon or online, and they are all available for free.

The Semiconductor-facilities Technology Academy, or SfTA, opened its doors in February 2018 and has been offering long-term training on fine piping for semiconductor facilities. The academy is run by eight Samsung Semiconductor partners and Samsung supports the costs as well as provides facilities, equipment and materials. The training facilities were modeled on actual Samsung Semiconductor facilities for trainees to develop a deeper understand of Samsung Semiconductor’s production and piping design and construction. Over the past years, the semiconductor industry experienced a shortage of workers, even with high unemployment rates among the younger generation.

By training young partner employees to become skilled technicians, SfTA has been helping to create a professional workforce for the semiconductor industry. In 2019, all 30 of the first academy graduates found full-time jobs at either Samsung Semiconductors or the eight participating partners, and have since been working in a range of areas, from semiconductor infrastructure facility installation and maintenance to repair.