Labor Shortage in New Industries... Customized Workforce Training at Each Production Stage Is Key

On the 7th, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with government, academia, and industry experts,
discussed strategies for nurturing talent in new industrial sectors

Academia and industry united
"Policy needed to separately train research design and field practitioners"

Seoul Jung-gu Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Human Resources Development Division of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a regular forum on the 7th at the ENA Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the theme "Changes in Industrial Structure and Directions for Workforce Development in New Industries."

This forum was organized to discuss the development direction of vocational training in new industries with experts from academia, government, and industry. Attendees included Kim Wang, head of the division, Kim Young-jung, former Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as well as experts from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, related organizations, and industry professionals.

The experts present unanimously raised the issue of workforce shortages in domestic new industry sites, pointing out that securing practical field personnel, not overly focused on training master's and doctoral-level researchers, is the top priority for the domestic industry to take a leading position in competitiveness. However, current government policies and vocational training programs are failing to keep up with field demands.

Looking at the domestic core leading industry, the semiconductor industry, according to a survey by the Semiconductor Industry Association in July this year, the workforce is expected to increase from about 177,000 currently to approximately 304,000 in ten years due to the expansion of the semiconductor industry scale. However, only about 5,000 semiconductor industry workers graduate annually from vocational high schools and universities (including graduate schools), raising concerns about worsening labor shortages if the current supply system is maintained.

Consensus from Academia and Industry: "Policies Needed to Separate Training for Research Design Personnel and Field Practical Personnel"

Lee Jang-won, senior researcher at the Korea Labor Institute, who gave the keynote speech, explained the recent spread of digital transformation across all industries and the rapidly changing labor market situation, emphasizing, "While policies to foster new industries are important from the perspective of labor demand, the urgent issue is the shortage of field practical personnel. Balanced workforce development that does not focus solely on master's and doctoral-level talents is crucial."

Senior researcher Lee stated, "More important than job creation is talent capability, and it is necessary to cultivate talent across the entire workforce in a balanced way, not just a few. For this, individual workers' efforts are important, but active labor market policies such as vocational training for all workers and prospective employees are also essential." He added, "Therefore, to enhance individual talent capabilities, not only the government and companies but also vocational training institutions like the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry should collaborate to implement vocational training programs to solve this issue."

Na Dong-man, research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, who gave the first topic presentation, mentioned the trend of industrial structural changes after the COVID-19 crisis, stating, "New industry workforce development policies should be designed to support career changers from adjacent industries and to resolve recruitment difficulties in declining industries to prevent disruptions in production."

Researcher Na also said, "It is necessary to secure workers through career changes and upskilling training for workers with extensive industrial field experience," adding, "Efficient workforce development will be possible when government policies and corporate vocational training programs are organically linked."

Next, Lee Jae-wang, director at Daewoo Logistics, presented an outlook on the secondary battery industry from the logistics field perspective. Director Lee mentioned the demand forecast for secondary batteries and related derivative industries, stating, "When looking at the entire value chain of secondary batteries, education is needed for specialized knowledge linked to each stage. It is necessary to classify training into doctoral-level research design personnel, bachelor's-level process personnel, and field practical personnel, actively utilizing infrastructure facilities such as the materials, parts, and equipment testing and evaluation center." He added, "The role of representative private vocational training institutions like the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry is more important than ever."

Finally, Dr. Lee Kyu-min from Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Research Institute introduced the characteristics and industry status of next-generation displays. Dr. Lee said, "The main reason Korea lost its number one position in the display market to China is that specialized industry promotion policies have not been adopted as national agendas and workforce development policies have not been systematically implemented." He expressed hope that "domestic semiconductor and display workforce development plans will not focus solely on master's and doctoral-level talents but also apply to training field practical personnel."

Emphasis on the Need for On-site Practical Training Programs in Collaboration with Companies Rather Than Single Government Policies

After the presentations, a panel discussion was held on the discussion topics, chaired by Kim Young-jung, former Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, with panelists including Park Jong-il, Director of Human Resources Development, Kim Bom-i, research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, and Jo Myung-hee, director of the Human Resources Development Division at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The speakers participating in the panel discussion unanimously stated, "There should be no separation between the public and private sectors in fostering new industry talent," suggesting, "The government, responsible for policy, and companies and organizations, responsible for on-site training, should jointly conduct training programs. The government should support companies, and companies should be guaranteed autonomy in training to enable the future production of competent talents."

Kim Wang, head of the division, said, "In new industries, high-end personnel are needed for research, development, and production system design and operation, but there is also a strong demand for field practical personnel who operate processes on-site and those in first- and second-tier partner companies producing parts and equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to implement workforce development projects to train these personnel." He added, "Effective projects like the Digital Leading Company Academy, which the government is implementing for digital workforce development, should also be conducted for new industry field workforce development."

The Human Resources Development Division of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry plans to compile the results of this forum and deliver them as policy reference materials to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and other relevant bodies.