Korea HRD Service Boosts Productivity and Implements 4.5-Day Workweek: Achievements in SME Training Consulting

The Korea Human Resources Development Service has selected outstanding cases from its “Workforce Development Consultant (WDC)” program, which diagnoses management and production sites of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and prescribes tailored training solutions. Among the cases chosen, there was an example where production volumes were increased through training and an AI-based work automation system was introduced, enabling the implementation of a 4.5-day workweek.

On August 13, the Service announced that it held the “Workforce Development Consultant Outstanding Case Competition” at the Grand Hall of Voco Myeongdong in Jung-gu, Seoul, and selected five teams as exemplary cases. The Workforce Development Consultant program is a comprehensive human resource development (HRD) service that diagnoses the needs of SMEs requiring employee training and prescribes customized training for each company. The Service has been operating this system since 2023, and in 2026, through 330 consultants, has provided tailored training consulting to approximately 12,000 companies as of July.

In this competition, teams consisted of SMEs collaborating with the Service. After both a document review and a presentation evaluation, five teams were ultimately selected for their outstanding practices. Among them, Taehwa Enterprises Co., Ltd. was recognized for addressing the challenge of improving production processes in response to rapid changes in the production environment. The Workforce Development Consultant from the Gyeongnam branch of the Service analyzed step-by-step production site problems together with the CEO and company representatives, and linked the company with vocational competency development programs as solutions.

As a result, employees’ proficiency and problem-solving capabilities were heightened, and on-site improvement activities raised the individual production output from 35.9 to 50 units. The company also established an AI-centered learning culture and mapped out a medium- and long-term AI training roadmap, laying the foundations to transform into an AI-driven enterprise (AX).

Proval Co., Ltd. was facing difficulties as productivity improvements following the establishment of a smart factory and investments in research and development (R&D) fell short of expectations, and the company struggled to secure new talent. With consulting support from the Western Gyeonggi branch of the Service, the company began nurturing internal talent and strengthening employees’ AI skills, and was able to develop an in-house automation system. By increasing work efficiency through AI-based work automation, Proval has innovated its work system and implemented a 4.5-day workweek.

Lee Byunghoon, President of the Korea Human Resources Development Service, stated, “We hope that, through these outstanding examples from the competition, more SMEs will engage with the Workforce Development Consultant program,” adding, “We will continue to strive to provide workforce development services tailored to industrial worksites.”

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