[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 30th that it will actively promote the ‘2020 Middle-aged Life Redesign Support Project’ to support reemployment and social participation of middle-aged people (ages 45-64) who are facing life transitions such as early retirement or resignation.
The middle-aged group, currently accounting for 31% of Gwangju’s total population, possesses a high level of education and skilled social and economic activity experience. Despite having strong demands and policy needs for information on retirement and old-age planning, jobs, and social participation, support policies for this group are relatively insufficient compared to those for youth and the elderly.
Accordingly, Gwangju has established the ‘2020 Middle-aged Life Redesign Support Plan’ aiming for active social participation and income support, including region-led job projects tailored to Gwangju’s characteristics and social contribution activities for the new middle-aged, in line with the changing perception of working age among middle-aged people who wish to work and participate socially until around age 70.
The main contents of the 2020 Middle-aged Life Redesign Support Plan include three areas and ten projects: ▲support for jobs and social participation ▲strengthening demand-tailored education and training ▲solidifying the support foundation for middle-aged life redesign, with a total investment of 3.593 billion KRW.
Through the middle-aged job support project, Gwangju plans to create 770 new jobs and aims to gradually expand to more than 2,000 jobs by 2022. Existing initiatives such as ‘social contribution activity support,’ ‘Bitgoeul 50+ job support,’ ‘job interview week by occupation,’ and ‘activation of employment and start-up communities’ will be promoted.
Among these, the ‘Bitgoeul 50+ Job’ project is a region-led job project that discovers and operates new jobs aligned with the city’s policy direction, unlike central government job projects. It will provide direct services in various fields requiring social services, such as accompanying women on late-night commutes and patrolling safety-vulnerable areas.
As an educational task to expand demand-tailored educational opportunities, since retired middle-aged people need lifelong learning for a rich old age, second life planning, and continuous self-development, Gwangju will collaborate with specialized educational institutions such as the Gwangju Lifelong Education Center and the Korea Labor Foundation to open various programs for the middle-aged and strengthen life redesign education including career development courses.
Additionally, to solidify the support foundation for middle-aged life redesign, a total of 600 million KRW, including 300 million KRW in special grants secured through a Ministry of the Interior and Safety public contest, will be invested to develop and distribute diverse and effective content related to work, learning, leisure, and welfare. The Bitgoeul 50+ Center, which will serve as a hub for the middle-aged by discovering local resources and establishing cooperative systems among related organizations, will also be established and operated.
Lee Pyeong-hyung, Director of the Welfare and Health Bureau, said, “In the era of 100-year lifespans, income activities are needed for a considerable period even after retirement from main jobs. The loss of social and economic roles among the middle-aged is emerging as a new social problem beyond the family.” He added, “Considering that jobs are the best welfare and old-age measure for the middle-aged, we will do our best to create jobs and support life redesign for this group.”
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