Gwangju City Secures 2.8 Billion Won for Regional Industry Customized Job Creation Support Project

A Total of 11 Projects Including Regional Innovation Projects and Incentive Programs Underway

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 3rd that it has secured 2.8 billion KRW (1.9 billion KRW from the central government, 900 million KRW from the city) after being selected in the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s ‘2021 Regional Industry Customized Job Creation Support Project’ competition.

This is expected to revitalize the local economy, which has been stagnant due to COVID-19, and stimulate new job creation.

Since its launch in 2006, the ‘Regional Industry Customized Job Creation Support Project’ is a job creation contest project where local governments propose job projects tailored to the characteristics of regions and industries for job creation and human resource development, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor selects and funds these projects. It is divided into regional innovation projects and incentive projects (general projects).

First, the regional innovation projects, which address regional industry job issues and are tailored to the characteristics of the local labor market, are managed by the Gwangju Regional Human Resources Development Committee Employment Innovation Promotion Team. These are carried out through two projects: the Strategic Industry Ecosystem Advancement Project and the Demand-Supply Balanced Job Creation Project.

The two projects consist of nine detailed sub-projects: ▲Support for advancing core drivers of strategic industries ▲Support for promising companies’ future core technology convergence packages ▲Support for industrial intelligence specialized workforce training and technology commercialization projects ▲Discovery and certification of good SMEs and job seeker matching support ▲Establishment of an integrated youth job delivery system ▲Support for bridge-type venture product development for startups ▲Stabilization of youth jobs utilizing retired expert technicians ▲Job creation linked to the National Employment Support System ▲Job evaluation analysis and employment infrastructure establishment.

The projects involve nine executing organizations with expertise in various fields, including Gwangju Technopark, Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gwangju Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, Korea Photonics Industry Promotion Association, Regional Employment Policy Research Institute, Gwangju Design Promotion Institute, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju Economic and Employment Promotion Institute, and Korea Employment Policy Institute.

Additionally, Gwangju City will also promote an incentive project using national funds awarded as prize money after winning the grand prize in last year’s national comprehensive job policy evaluation, marking the third consecutive year it has been selected as an excellent local government for job policies.

The incentive projects include two initiatives: establishing well-aging services and training specialized personnel, and establishing specialized care services for hospitalized children and training personnel. Nambu University and Gwangju Women’s University participate as executing organizations.

Through the Regional Industry Customized Job Creation Support Project, new industries leading the region’s future will be discovered and nurtured, and the ecosystem of the region’s 11 strategic industries will be advanced through industrial convergence and sophistication. This is expected to create 827 jobs, support 130 companies, and train 245 personnel.

Song Gwon-chun, Director of the City’s Job Policy Office, said, “Since the launch of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority in January and the establishment of the Gwangju AI Industry Convergence Cluster centered on the AI Data Center, a turning point has been created for the breakthrough development of Gwangju’s 11 strategic industries, including artificial intelligence, photonics convergence, energy, information and communication technology (ICT), and foundational industries. We will actively utilize this to ensure that the Regional Industry Customized Job Creation Support Project centered on the 11 strategic industries leads to the creation of quality jobs and revitalization of the local economy, and we will closely cooperate with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the supervising agency, and the Gwangju Regional Human Resources Development Committee, the project executing agency,” he said.