Eunpyeong-gu, Gangdong-gu, Guro-gu, Gwangjin-gu and Other Seoul Districts Hold Job Fairs to Provide Elderly with Pocket Money and Health Benefits
As the weather gets colder, the lives of elderly people without suitable jobs are becoming increasingly difficult.
In this context, autonomous districts such as Eunpyeong-gu, Gangdong-gu, Guro-gu, and Gwangjin-gu in Seoul have taken steps to create job opportunities for seniors, allowing them to earn pocket money while maintaining their health by working for a certain amount of time.
In particular, jobs related to care and safety, which do not require much physical effort but provide steady income, have been established and are receiving positive evaluations.
Eunpyeong-gu (District Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) will hold the ‘2023 Eunpyeong Senior Job Fair’ at 1 p.m. on the 30th in Eunpyeong Hall on the 5th floor of the Eunpyeong District Office.
The ‘Eunpyeong Senior Job Fair’ is being held for the second time following last year. It provides reemployment opportunities and various employment information to job seekers aged 60 and over, while offering diverse recruitment opportunities to companies experiencing labor shortages. Any resident of Eunpyeong-gu aged 60 or older can participate.
The main recruitment positions include security guards, care workers, postpartum care workers, and cooking staff. More than 15 companies will participate in the fair, accepting resumes on-site and hiring seniors through interviews.
Side events include a booth offering free ID photo shoots for resumes and a kiosk experience booth to enhance seniors’ digital capabilities.
In addition to on-site participating companies, the district supports resume submission on behalf of companies participating online. The ‘2024 Public Senior Job Project Guide,’ scheduled for recruitment in December, will also be provided.
To ensure a safe and orderly event, more than 40 volunteers will be assigned to the venue. Volunteers, who have undergone prior training, will manage safety by limiting the number of entrants at the same time and maintaining order at the event.
Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, said, “I hope this fair will serve as a stepping stone for the increasing number of seniors seeking jobs,” adding, “We will strive to make the ‘Senior Job Fair’ beneficial for both participating companies and visitors by ensuring that the experience and work know-how of seniors are positively evaluated in the job market.”
Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Soo-hee) will recruit residents to participate in the ‘2024 Senior Job and Social Activity Support Project’ from December 4 to 15. This project utilizes seniors’ capabilities to connect services in socially needed areas (such as care and safety) and supports jobs and social activities for seniors in the community.
The district plans to expand the number of recruits and the scale of the senior job project next year to increase seniors’ social participation and income security. A total of 62 detailed projects will be conducted under the 2024 senior job project, recruiting 4,189 people across four categories (▲Public Interest Activity Type 3,019 ▲Social Service Type 717 ▲Market Type 383 ▲Employment Referral Type 70).
Especially, the social service type and market type jobs, which had high satisfaction among participants this year, have been expanded by 299 positions. Among these, four new project teams will be launched for social service type jobs (▲Senior Discovery Team ▲Our Neighborhood Senior Discovery Team ▲Senior Fire Safety Support Team ▲Raum Bookstore).
Additionally, the district has raised activity allowances reflecting recent inflation. The public interest activity type allowance increased by 20,000 KRW per month, and the social service type by 40,000 KRW per month.
Eligibility for participation in the senior job project is as follows: for the public interest activity type, recipients of the basic pension aged 65 or older; for some social service types, market type, and employment referral type, seniors aged 60 or older can participate.
The public interest activity type involves volunteer work such as elderly-to-elderly care, public facility volunteering, and school meal assistance. Participants work for 11 months (at least 30 hours per month, within 3 hours per day) and receive an activity allowance of 290,000 KRW per month.
The ‘social service type’ utilizes seniors’ experience and activity capabilities, involving tasks such as public administrative support and care for vulnerable groups or child facilities. Participants work for 10 months (60 hours per month, 15 hours per week) and can earn up to 760,000 KRW per month.
The ‘market type’ includes jobs such as senior counseling cafes, leather workshops, and school commuting assistants, with working periods and salaries varying by job.
The ‘employment referral type’ connects seniors with relevant job skills to general companies and requires consultation before participation. Working periods and salaries depend on the employer’s contract conditions.
Residents wishing to participate in the senior job project can apply by visiting one of eight implementing agencies (▲Gangdong-gu Office Senior Welfare Division ▲Gangdong Senior Welfare Center ▲Gurip Haegong Senior Welfare Center ▲Seonggajeong Senior Welfare Center ▲Korean Senior Citizens Association Gangdong Branch ▲Gangdong Senior Club ▲Gangdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center ▲Seongnae Comprehensive Social Welfare Center) by December 15 or apply online (Bokjiro, Senior Job Here). However, supporting documents must be submitted in person even if applying online.
Guro-gu (District Mayor Moon Heon-il) is recruiting 4,278 participants for the 2024 senior job project.
The total number of recruits has increased by 647 compared to last year, and the total budget has increased by 32% to 17.6 billion KRW.
The job allowance for the public interest activity type, which targets basic pension recipients involved in social participation activities, has increased by 20,000 KRW to 290,000 KRW per month, and the social service type, supporting tasks such as childcare facilities for those aged 65 and over, has increased by 49,000 KRW to 761,000 KRW per month.
The senior job project is conducted in four types: ▲Public Interest Activity Type (social participation activities to promote community public interest) ▲Social Service Type (providing services in socially needed areas utilizing experience and capabilities) ▲Market Type Project Teams (joint operation of small stores and specialized job project teams to create senior jobs) ▲Employment Referral Type (connecting those with relevant job skills to demand sites).
The number of recruits by category is 3,260 for public interest activity type, 572 for social service type, and 446 for market and employment referral types.
Eligibility for participation is as follows: for the public interest activity type, basic pension recipients aged 65 or older; for some social service types, market type, and employment referral type, seniors aged 60 or older can participate. However, recipients of livelihood benefits among national basic livelihood security recipients, workplace health insurance subscribers, long-term care insurance recipients, and those participating in two or more government or local government job projects are excluded.
Those wishing to participate can apply by visiting their local community service center or one of nine project implementing agencies (Guro Senior Club, Guro Senior Welfare Center, Korean Senior Citizens Association Guro Branch, Gung-dong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, Hwawon Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, Onsu Senior Welfare Center, Gilgaon Welfare Association, Guro Senior Care Integrated Center, Guro Comprehensive Social Welfare Center) from December 4 to 15.
Employment referral type recruitment is conducted year-round on an ongoing basis at Guro Senior Club and Guro Senior Welfare Center.
Meanwhile, to prevent safety accidents among senior job project participants, the district will enroll them in accident insurance, social insurance, and liability insurance before activities begin and conduct quarterly training sessions.
Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) is recruiting participants for the 2024 senior job project. The goal is to support various jobs and social activities so that seniors can enjoy a healthy and vibrant old age.
The number of recruits has increased by about 22% from 2,389 last year to 2,905. Considering income level, experience, and activity capabilities, recruitment is divided into four types: ▲Public Interest Activity Type for basic pension recipients aged 65 and over (2,010 people) ▲Social Service Type for those aged 65 and over (538 people) ▲Market Type for those aged 60 and over (217 people) ▲Employment Referral Type for those aged 60 and over (140 people).
The senior job project is conducted by eight organizations including the district office, Gwangjin Senior Welfare Center, Korean Senior Citizens Association Gwangjin Branch, Korean Retirees Association, Seoul Branch of the Korea Safety Education Association, Gwangjin Senior Club, Social Cooperative Dounuri, and Hope Welfare Volunteer Group.
Main projects include environment guardians, park management, welfare assistants, subway parcel delivery, and exam proctor dispatch, totaling 45 projects.
Seniors wishing to participate can submit applications and required documents such as resident registration copies at their local community service center or the implementing agencies from the 4th to the 22nd of next month. ▲Recipients of livelihood benefits among national basic livelihood security recipients ▲Participants in government and local government job projects ▲Workplace health insurance subscribers ▲Long-term care insurance recipients are not eligible. Since eligibility and recruitment numbers vary by agency and project, confirmation is necessary.
Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “We ask for much interest and participation in the senior job project,” adding, “We will continue to discover various job projects that utilize seniors’ experience and knowledge and strive to support seniors’ income generation and continuous social activities.”
Geumcheon-gu (District Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced that it has secured 362 million KRW in national funding after being selected in the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s ‘Senior Job Market-Type Project Team Infrastructure Support Project’ competition.
This competition aims to strengthen the competitiveness of ‘market-type project teams,’ where seniors jointly operate small stores to create jobs, and to build facilities and spaces so that seniors participating in job projects can generate high profits.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare comprehensively evaluated the project capabilities of implementing agencies, project effectiveness, and the scale of local government investment, selecting five institutions nationwide.
Geumcheon-gu and the implementing agency, Geumcheon Senior Club, proposed facility support for the ‘Good Lunchbox’ project team, which delivers or sells lunchboxes targeting vulnerable groups such as single-person households, and the ‘Good Laundry’ project team, which provides laundry, laundry collection, and delivery services for residents of large apartment complexes.
Geumcheon Senior Club, opened in June 2019, is a senior job support institution operating various job project teams for seniors’ social participation and economic independence. It has been selected as an excellent senior job institution by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for three consecutive years.
Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “We are pleased to be selected through public-private cooperation, enabling us to operate a large-scale senior job project,” adding, “We will work to increase quality jobs and make Geumcheon a happy age-friendly city.”
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