Government to Launch 10 Billion KRW SME Employment Linkage Project to "Alleviate Job Search Difficulties"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government is set to promote a job matching project for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) worth 10 billion KRW this year. The project scale has expanded by about 15% compared to the previous year. The goal is to alleviate job-seeking difficulties through various employment linkage programs such as job training for job seekers, employment counseling, and on-site internships.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 24th that it will implement the "Employment Support Utilizing the Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center" project to resolve the mismatch between job seekers and SME labor supply and demand.

The Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center has been supporting job matching between companies and job seekers at 16 regional headquarters of the Small and Medium Business Corporation since March 2017 to provide customized demand for job seekers, including youth, and recruiting SMEs.

Last year, it achieved a total employment outcome of 3,521 people by supporting job seekers' job training, on-site coaching practice, employment consulting, and SME employment linkage.

This year, to strengthen customized employment support in local fields, the project scale has been expanded to 10 billion KRW, an increase of 14.9% compared to the previous year.

The main projects consist of ▲ job seekers' job training and employment matching support (4.15 billion KRW) ▲ job training for young soldiers (1.144 billion KRW) ▲ win-win job program between large and small-medium enterprises (2.8 billion KRW) ▲ on-site coaching skilled workforce training (1.2 billion KRW) ▲ smart manufacturing company job package support (719 million KRW).

First, the job seekers' job training and employment matching support project plans to add employment consulting targeting people in their 40s and 50s to the existing youth job seeker employment support and promote the inflow of manpower into regional key industries and traditional SMEs.

In addition, customized education to enhance job skills and employment capabilities will be conducted mainly for young soldiers, and an "employment support program" will be operated so that they can be employed by SMEs immediately after discharge. Non-face-to-face and online job fairs will also be held on specific topics for job seekers and companies.

The win-win job program between large and small-medium enterprises operates a cooperation program with large (and medium-sized) companies to provide job competency training to young job seekers using the excellent education and training infrastructure of large companies, enabling immediate employment at large companies' partner SMEs.

Also, by utilizing external experts in technology and management such as master craftsmen, one-on-one on-site coaching and practice specialized for the field will be intensively supported for job seekers to help young people quickly settle as skilled workers.

The newly established smart manufacturing company job package project this year provides integrated support from "employment matching - smart factory education - follow-up management" between job seekers, mainly experienced job seekers in their 40s, and companies introducing smart factories.

Participating companies will receive a training allowance of 600,000 KRW per month, and job seekers will receive an education participation fee of 200,000 KRW per month for up to three months.

Won Young-jun, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "We will actively support the labor supply and demand difficulties between local recruiting companies and job seekers by utilizing the accumulated job matching know-how and the 'Really Good SME Platform (Excellent Company DB)' information."

SMEs and job seekers wishing to participate in the project can apply on the Small and Medium Business Corporation Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center website or inquire by phone (1899-3001).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.