The Jeonbuk Regional Childcare Support Center, commissioned by the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province and operated by Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Healthy Families Support Project Group (Director Jeong Yujin, Professor, Department of Child Studies), announced that it has produced a total of 50 graduates through the 1st Childcare Workforce Training of 2026.

This training was organized to proactively respond to the national childcare worker certification system scheduled to take effect on April 23, 2026, and was conducted over approximately two weeks from March 9 to March 23, 2026.

In particular, from this year the government's support for childcare services has been expanded to households with incomes up to 250% of the median, and an additional 10% of the co-payment will be provided for areas of the province experiencing population decline. As demand for services is expected to increase, securing a stable supply of childcare personnel and strengthening their professional skills has emerged as a key task. This heightens the importance of the current training.

In response to these changes, the center strengthened practical, field-centered training such as first aid, age-appropriate play, and child development characteristics. The curriculum was designed so that graduates can be deployed to the field immediately after completing the training as professional childcare personnel.

In addition, by operating both a hire-first-then-train approach to meet short-term demand and a train-first-then-hire approach to secure a mid- to long-term talent pool, this training is expected to contribute to stabilizing the supply of care workers in the region.

Director Kim Byung-su said, "This is a critical time in which the expansion of government support and the implementation of the national certification system coincide, leading to both quantitative growth and qualitative advancement in childcare services." He added, "We will strengthen ongoing post-training management and support so that the personnel produced in this program can become professional childcare personnel whom residents can entrust their children to with confidence."

For more information on childcare services and the training program, please visit the Jeonbuk Regional Childcare Support Center website.