[2020 National Audit] "Worst Job Performance... Need to Enhance Vocational Training Quality and Increase Reemployment Rate"

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] On the 26th, Hong Seok-jun, a member of the People Power Party, urged the Ministry of Employment and Labor to establish substantial vocational training operations and measures to improve reemployment rates during the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee comprehensive audit.

According to the employment trends for September announced by Statistics Korea, the number of employed persons decreased by 392,000 compared to the same month last year, and the youth employment rate dropped by 1.6 percentage points to 42.1%.

Except for those aged 60 and over who received direct job benefits from the government, employment decreased across all age groups, and the number of unemployed increased by 13.1 percentage points compared to the same month last year, reaching 1 million.

Rep. Hong criticized, "Despite allocating an enormous budget up to the 4th supplementary budget, the actual job performance is heading towards the worst."

Along with this, Rep. Hong pointed out that the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s vocational training projects are being poorly managed. The 'Performance Evaluation Report on Financially Supported Job Projects' raised issues such as ▲training in nationally important industrial sectors being operated without distinction from other job seeker training ▲training conducted only on paper without actual training.

Rep. Hong emphasized, "There are continuous criticisms and harsh reviews such as watching promotional videos of specific companies’ products instead of actual education," adding, "We should not simply blame the economic crisis but reflect on whether the employment support projects conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor are being operated substantively."

Looking at the reemployment rates during last year’s job-seeker benefit receipt, ▲Seoul Regional Office recorded 26.5%, ▲Central Regional Office 27%, and ▲Daejeon Regional Office 27.5%. Rep. Hong said, "Daegu Regional Office recorded the lowest reemployment rate at 22.2%," and urged, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor must pay special attention and establish measures to support employment in regions with low reemployment rates."

In response, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap said, "We will strive to reflect the voices from the field and resolve causes that hinder training performance."

He added, "In the case of the Daegu region, we will work hard to improve the reemployment rate and achieve employment outcomes in new industry sectors such as K-Digital Training, so that quality vocational training can be provided."