Ulsan City Overseas Delegation Visits Uzbekistan from March 14 to 19
Promoting Cooperation in Various Fields Including Mutual Exchange and Workforce Development
The Ulsan City overseas delegation (led by Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom), currently visiting Uzbekistan to ensure the successful launch of the shipbuilding workforce training project, will visit Tashkent, Uzbekistan on the 14th as their first official schedule.
On this day, at 4 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Korean time), the Ulsan City overseas delegation will hold a meeting with Chief Musayev Behzod at the Uzbekistan Agency for External Labor Migration to discuss the shipbuilding workforce training project and the operation of the workforce training education center.
Following this, they will exchange a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote friendly cooperation, mutual exchange, and joint collaboration in human resource development.
According to the MOU, Ulsan City and the Uzbekistan Agency for External Labor Migration have agreed to: ▲expand friendly exchanges between the public and private sectors for human resource development, such as strengthening vocational competency development and operating workforce training programs; ▲actively cooperate in providing necessary administrative support for friendly exchanges and collaborative activities.
Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom stated, "I expect that the signing of this joint cooperation agreement for human resource development will greatly help local shipbuilding companies secure the on-site workforce they currently lack," and added, "We will continue to expand exchange and cooperation projects to further enhance friendly relations between the two countries."
According to local shipbuilding companies, the number of foreign workers in the shipbuilding industry reached about 8,000 as of last year. With the number expected to exceed 9,000 this year, shipbuilding companies are focusing on cultivating local talent through on-site job training to address workforce shortages.
In response, Ulsan City became the first local government to sign an agreement on workforce training with the Uzbekistan Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction in August last year and has been preparing to open a shipbuilding workforce training education center in Uzbekistan.
Ulsan City will provide educational equipment to the center with a budget of 1 billion KRW. In addition, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will support curriculum development and instructors, while the Uzbekistan government will be responsible for providing educational facilities and recruiting trainees.
The center is scheduled to open on March 18, offering about 10 Korean language and job-specific technical training sessions over approximately three months for 370 trainees. The 370 trainees will be distributed across five job categories (Scaffolding 95, Painting 87, Grinding 100, Insulation 15, Electrical 73).
Additionally, Ulsan City applied to the Ministry of Justice on February 7, 2025, for a metropolitan visa pilot project that would allow metropolitan governments to design and operate visa programs for foreign workers needed in the region, including target industries, residency qualifications, and activity scope, to help resolve the local shipbuilding workforce shortage. The Ministry of Justice will review and select projects for implementation in March.
Furthermore, regarding Ulsan City's human resource development, the Ministry of Employment and Labor has decided to implement a Ulsan-type employment permit system pilot project, which will allow workers who have completed training at the workforce training education center in Uzbekistan to be employed by shipbuilding companies in Ulsan. This is expected to significantly alleviate the recruitment difficulties of small and medium-sized shipbuilding companies.
The Ulsan City overseas delegation also announced that the "Ulsan Global Workforce Training Center Opening Ceremony" will be held at the Fergana Training Center in Uzbekistan at 4 p.m. on March 18 (8 p.m. Korean time).
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