Retired Technical Personnel Return to Work at SMEs

Support for 70% of Labor Costs for Small and Medium Enterprises Hiring Retired Technical Personnel

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Retired technical personnel will be able to work again in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The government plans to support 70% of the labor costs for SMEs that hire retired technical personnel. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Park Young-sun, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) and the Foundation for Large and Small Business and Agricultural and Fisheries Cooperation (Secretary-General Kim Soon-chul, hereinafter referred to as the Cooperation Foundation) announced on the 7th that they are recruiting companies to participate in the 'Retired Technical Personnel SME Utilization Support Project.'

Although SMEs are in urgent need of securing excellent technical personnel to enhance competitiveness, it is difficult to hire technical personnel due to the burden of labor costs and difficulties in discovering technical talent. According to the Industrial Technical Personnel Survey, the shortage rate of industrial technical personnel in SMEs was 3.1% in 2016, 3.1% in 2017, and 2.9% in 2018, which is about 10 times higher than the 0.3% of large-scale enterprises with more than 300 employees.

Accordingly, the Ministry has decided to newly promote the 'Retired Technical Personnel SME Utilization Support Project' this year to enable SMEs lacking technical skills and professional personnel to actively respond to the technological competition environment by utilizing retired technical personnel and to improve the technological capabilities of SMEs. When SMEs hire technical personnel who have worked for more than 10 years in large enterprises, mid-sized enterprises, or strong small enterprises, they will support 70% of the required labor costs up to a monthly limit of 2.17 million KRW for four months, with a maximum support of 8.68 million KRW.

The first recruitment, which will be held from the 8th to the 24th of this month, will select 300 companies, and an additional 100 companies will be supported through the second recruitment in June. Priority will be given to SMEs with a strong intention to hire technical personnel and clear plans for utilizing the technical personnel. After selection, technical talents will be recommended reflecting the job skills, career details, and certifications required by the SMEs, and if the technical personnel are hired after an interview with the respective SME, 70% of the labor costs will be supported.

Park Jong-chan, Director of the Win-Win Cooperation Policy at the Ministry, said, "We expect that the technical experience and know-how of retired technical personnel who have worked for a long time in large enterprises, mid-sized enterprises, and strong small enterprises will be well transferred to SMEs, raising the technological capabilities of SMEs to a higher level," and added, "Since this is a newly launched project this year, we plan to operate the project in the direction desired by the field by reflecting the opinions of SMEs in the future."