From Junior Year of University, '5 Million Won per Person' Learning Card... Strengthening Vocational Training in the '3 Major Employment Safety Nets'

Government Subsidy Eligibility for Employers Relaxed from '16 to 4 Hours' and Others
Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the 'Worker Vocational Competency Development Act' Approved at Cabinet Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced that it will provide up to 5 million KRW per person in vocational skill development funds for up to five years starting from the third year of university, two years before graduation, through the 'National Tomorrow Learning Card' (Learning Card) support program. Recently, the government has positioned vocational skill development policies alongside the National Employment Support System (a Korean-style social assistance system) and the National Employment Insurance System as one of the 'three major employment and social safety nets.'

Overview of the National Tomorrow Learning Card. (Data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor)

On the 17th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it had reviewed and approved a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Worker Vocational Skills Development Act reflecting this content. First, the eligibility for the Learning Card support was expanded from existing university graduates to those two years before graduation. This means that students from their third year of university are now eligible for support. The Learning Card is a program that supports training costs so that citizens can undertake vocational skill development training at any time, serving as a social safety net policy in response to rapid technological advancements.

The government considered that, given technological progress and industrial restructuring, it is necessary to support training as early as possible before graduation. According to the 2021 supplementary survey on the economically active population youth group, it takes an average of 10.1 months from graduation (or dropout) to first employment. Students enrolled in distance universities such as the Korea National Open University receive vocational skill development training support regardless of their academic year. There is no need to expand the support target because the classes they usually attend are typically conducted in a way that combines 'work or job-seeking activities' with learning. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official explained, "With this amendment to the enforcement decree, young people enrolled in universities will be able to participate in the Learning Card program one year earlier than before."

Support details and levels for employer vocational competency development training. (Data=Ministry of Employment and Labor)

Additionally, the government announced that it will lower the government subsidy standards paid to employers supporting worker vocational training. Previously, the criteria required a 'training period of at least 2 days and training time of at least 16 hours.' Even eligible companies had to meet the 'at least 1 day and 8 hours' standard. Going forward, regardless of whether the company is large or small, the standard will be unified to 'at least 4 hours.'

An official from the Ministry of Employment and Labor said, "The existing regulations have been maintained for 15 years since 2005, but recently, with changes in the labor market environment such as digital transformation and the implementation of the 52-hour workweek system, it has been difficult to provide diverse and flexible training. Therefore, we plan to abolish the training period restrictions and the differentiation by company size, applying a uniform training time of at least 4 hours for both small and large companies to promote various trainings suited to company circumstances."

Meanwhile, the government is unveiling various vocational skill measures in September, the month of vocational skills. To establish a de facto 'national lifelong vocational skill development' support system, on the 9th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor submitted an agenda at the 21st Job Committee hosted by the Presidential Committee on Jobs to introduce a 'Competency Bank System' next year. This system allows the accumulation of 'specs' such as National Competency Standards (NCS) course information to be utilized in corporate employment screening.