Ministry of Employment Signs Business Agreement on Youth Challenge Support Project with Child Welfare Association and Others

Child Welfare Association Collaborates with Child and Youth Group Home Council to Promote Employment Support Policies

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] On the 27th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it signed a business agreement with the Korea Child Welfare Association and the Korea Child and Youth Group Home Council for employment support programs such as the Youth Challenge Support Project.

The Youth Challenge Support Project is a program by the Ministry of Employment and Labor that provides psychological counseling, confidence-building programs, and more to young people who have given up job searching through youth centers in local governments nationwide. Earlier in July, the government announced that it would extend support not only to young people who have given up job searching but also to youth preparing for independence (children aging out of care). Regarding this, Deputy Minister Park Hwajin of the Ministry of Employment and Labor said, "We judged that psychological support to boost confidence is also necessary for youth preparing for independence, so we decided to collaborate on the Youth Challenge Support Project," adding, "This agreement means that the government is reaching out first to support them with employment support programs such as the Youth Challenge Support Project."

After the agreement on this day, the Child Welfare Association and the Child and Youth Group Home Council will promote the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s employment support projects and assist in discovering participants by utilizing mobile networks of each facility and youth preparing for independence. Shin Jeongchan, president of the Child Welfare Association, said, "I hope that youth preparing for independence who have left care will gain confidence through the Youth Challenge Support Project and that it will be a great help for them to enter society, and we will actively cooperate." Bang Yeongtak, president of the Child and Youth Group Home Council, promised, "We will cooperate so that youth preparing for independence can grow into pillars of our society through thorough support."

The government has also lowered the threshold for youth preparing for independence to receive employment support services regardless of eligibility under the National Employment Support System. Since March, they have been included in Type II 'specific groups' of the National Employment Support System, receiving employment support services regardless of income, assets, or employment experience requirements. Deputy Minister Park expressed gratitude, saying, "I am reassured that these two institutions, which can directly introduce employment support policies to youth preparing for independence, are working together."