Gyeongbuk Province, which is battling low birth rates, has opened the nation's first "Job Convenience Store" to support the balance of work and childcare.
On the 20th, Gyeongsangbuk-do held the opening ceremony for the "Job Convenience Store Gyeongbuk Branch No. 1 Gumi Branch" at the Gumi Women's Resources Development Center. The event was attended by Kim Hak-hong, Vice Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, Kim Jang-ho, Mayor of Gumi, members of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council, Gumi City Council members, the President of the Gumi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the President of the Women's Association, and the President of the Daycare Center Association.
Gumi Women's New Work Center supports women's worker clubs to improve job skills and increase employment retention rates for female workers.
The Job Convenience Store is a project designed to help women continue their careers by balancing work and childcare. It promotes women's economic participation by providing short-term job matching for women seeking employment and supporting childcare for their children.
The Gumi branch of the Gyeongbuk Job Convenience Store is operated by the Gumi Women's Resources Development Center, which has established a collaborative system with local childcare facilities and businesses in Gumi.
The service is available to women who have career interruptions or wish to seek employment and have infants or elementary school children. Various fields such as parts production, small packaging, civil service guidance, and store management are available. Recruitment has been ongoing both online and offline through the Gumi Women's Resources Development Center website since the 2nd.
While women seeking employment are at work, childcare centers such as K-Bodeum provide care for their children so they can work with peace of mind.
For companies requesting job matching, wage support is provided for a minimum of one day to a maximum of three months, tailored to substitute workers for maternity or parental leave and short-term staff for small businesses.
Gyeongbuk Province plans to operate the Gumi branch as a pilot project until December this year, address on-site issues and requests from women with career interruptions, and then open the second and third branches in Yecheon and Pohang next year, with plans to expand to all cities and counties.
In relation to this, Gyeongbuk Province is promoting various policies to encourage women's economic participation by operating customized vocational training programs through the Women's New Job Center and Women's Resources Development Center, and by linking support for employment and entrepreneurship, counseling, and information provision.
Kim Hak-hong, Vice Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, emphasized, "The Job Convenience Store is expected to greatly help solve the problem of women's career interruptions and vitalize the local economy by creating jobs in small businesses. Gyeongbuk Province will actively support the establishment of a work-childcare balance culture, making it a leading model to overcome low birth rates."
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