Gyeonggi-do Holds Baby Boomer Job Innovation Strategy Forum

Proposing a Flexible Job Model Ensuring Social Safety Nets
Innovative Strategies and Solutions for Balancing Work and Life of the Baby Boomer Generation Amid Super-Aged Society Changes

Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Job Foundation are taking a commemorative photo after holding the "Gyeonggi Province Baby Boomer Job Innovation Strategy Forum" at the Suwon Convention Center on the 31st.

A flexible job model offering 24 to 35 hours per week has been proposed for the baby boomer generation, who are highly willing to work despite retirement.

Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Job Foundation held the "Gyeonggi Province Baby Boomer Job Innovation Strategy Forum" on the 31st at the Suwon Convention Center. This forum was organized to diagnose the job issues of the baby boomer generation amid rapid demographic changes and to propose new job models.

About 50 participants, including mid-to-late career job policy officials from Gyeonggi Province and its cities and counties, job experts, and practitioners from job support organizations, attended. The forum featured a keynote presentation by Kim Jong-jin, director of the Working Citizens Research Institute, titled "In the Era of Super-Aging, Directions for Jobs Balancing Work and Life for Older Workers," followed by a discussion.

The main topic of this forum was "Baby Boomer Customized Jobs with Social Safety Nets." Nam Kyung-ah, head of the Baby Boomer Opportunity Division of Gyeonggi Province, introduced the "Baby Boomer Light Job (tentative name)" project, a new business planned for 2025, along with diversified support measures for baby boomer jobs.

The "Baby Boomer Light Job" project involves supporting companies that hire baby boomers (aged 50?64) for flexible jobs of 24 to 35 hours per week by providing expenses for social safety nets for workers.

To this end, the province plans to focus on discovering flexible jobs in the private sector where baby boomers and companies can coexist, and to establish a sustainable and flexible job culture that meets the diverse needs and conditions of the middle-aged and older population.

Regarding this, Director Kim Jong-jin stated, "There is a need to break away from traditional jobs and introduce new job models," and expressed agreement that the Light Job is a "job innovation case" that guarantees social safety nets for middle-aged workers while allowing them to maintain health and enjoy leisure, and also benefits companies.

In the subsequent discussion, Professor Jung Geon-hwa of Hanshin University served as chair, with participants including Ma Gye-hee, director of the Gyeonggi Middle-Aged Tomorrow Center; Lee Hye-min, director of the Job Research Center at the Gyeonggi Job Foundation; Lee Haeng-soon, representative of the Suwon Social Enterprise Council; and Im Gap-soon, CEO of EcoWind, discussing job issues faced by the baby boomer generation.

Following this, Yoon Deok-ryong, CEO of the Gyeonggi Job Foundation, who is scheduled to lead the 2025 Baby Boomer Light Job project, said, "We will continuously propose new policy directions so that the baby boomer generation can maintain a stable life with new jobs even after retirement," and added, "We will fulfill our role as a think tank for job policies in the province."