Chungnam Creates 5,500 Eco-Friendly Jobs for 'Crisis Industry Workers'

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is launching a support project to help workers in crisis industries find new jobs amid the transition to eco-friendly energy.

The province announced on the 11th that it plans to create a total of 5,500 eco-friendly jobs over five years, focusing on regions with high employment concerns due to industrial transition.

This project is being promoted following Chungnam's recent selection in the Ministry of Employment and Labor's public contest for the "Employment Stability Preemptive Response Package Support Project." It will be implemented with a total budget of 40.9 billion KRW, including 32.8 billion KRW in national funds, by December 2025.

Through this, the province plans to create about 1,100 jobs annually over the next five years.

Previously, the province along with Boryeong, Asan, Seosan, and Dangjin cities formed a consortium to apply for the support project contest.

The consortium's detailed tasks focus on operating a region-specific job governance system to strengthen the employment safety net by establishing the Chungnam Employment Stability Preemptive Response Support Team and the Chungnam Employment Crisis Comprehensive Support Center within the Chungnam Job Promotion Agency.

Additionally, the project will provide employment services such as job analysis and hiring incentives for workers in crisis industries affected by the phased closure of coal-fired power plants and the transition to eco-friendly internal combustion engine vehicles, employment trend and job status surveys, job placement, counseling, and support.

Furthermore, the project will promote workforce development and corporate support for the revitalization of crisis industries through carbon-based industry advancement and the fostering of new growth industries such as eco-friendly energy and mobility innovation.

In particular, the project plans to offer a package of services including job transition training for workforce redeployment in crisis industries (eco-friendly vehicles, parts development, wind power), specialized technical training (design), retraining and career change training in hydrogen energy and eco-friendly vehicle sectors, certification support for eco-friendly technology transition (testing, performance evaluation, quality, etc.), technical consulting and support, as well as new business discovery and market expansion support.

Kim Young-myeong, Director of the Province's Economic Office, said, "Since August last year, the consortium has been exploring and discovering mid- to long-term job projects to respond to the structural transformation of the energy and automobile parts industries." He added, "The consortium will strive to present a 'successful job transition model' as a region-led job project linked to local industry and policy directions."