Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center to Double in Size This Year to Address SME Recruitment Challenges

Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center Expands On-Site Network
From 17 to 34 Locations This Year
AI-Based Matching System to Be Introduced

The "Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center," a job support platform specialized for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will be expanded to twice its current size this year. This move aims to support SMEs struggling to recruit employees and to increase youth employment opportunities.

According to the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) on January 14, the number of Corporate Workforce Difficulty Centers, which provide one-stop support for job-related challenges at SMEs, will increase from the current 17 to 34 this year. The centers, previously operated at 17 KOSME regional headquarters nationwide, will be expanded to branch offices as well, thereby improving accessibility to workforce support policies and intensifying talent matching support for SMEs in key regional industries.

The most important work of the Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center is to match outstanding SMEs with young job seekers. KOSME has identified companies facing recruitment difficulties through on-site surveys, verified their hiring requirements, and provided tailored job matching for graduates of specialized high schools, junior colleges, vocational schools, and young military personnel. During the due diligence process for government support programs, KOSME identifies workforce demand among SMEs, assists with job postings, and then has professional counselors at the matching support center connect companies with suitable candidates.

Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center Job Matching Platform Homepage

This expansion is being pursued because the Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center has delivered clear results in matching young job seekers with companies. KOSME explained that, through employment support initiatives utilizing the Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center, it connected 1,735 young job seekers to 1,002 SMEs last year. Of those placed, 71.4% were young people aged 34 or younger, and 48.5% found jobs in the manufacturing sector. Additionally, more than half (53.3%) of placements were with government-certified outstanding companies. This demonstrates that the Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center is making a tangible contribution to resolving workforce challenges at SMEs by connecting young job seekers with high-quality companies.

This progress is the result of KOSME diversifying SME workforce support through collaboration with related organizations such as the Military Manpower Administration and the Korea Student Aid Foundation, targeting young soldiers and scholarship recipients. KOSME has also strengthened digital recruitment and employment support services to attract more young people to SMEs. In particular, the center provides companies not only with simple matching but also with job posting assistance, AI-based tailored candidate recommendations, one-on-one recruitment consulting, and policy-linked services. Job seekers can receive support for resume and cover letter writing, AI mock interviews, and job aptitude tests.

This year, to further promote youth employment at outstanding SMEs, KOSME plans to expand the Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center and increase the participation of young trainees in programs that provide job-related training using the educational infrastructure of large companies and connect them to jobs at partner SMEs. An AI-based matching system will also be implemented to pair companies and job seekers from neighboring regions, taking into account their locations. A KOSME official stated, "Workforce issues remain the most significant challenge for SMEs on the ground," and added, "This year, we will further expand support for SMEs struggling with recruitment difficulties through the Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center."