Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Foreigners with advanced degrees from Korea struggle to find jobs
Foreigners look at brochures at a job fair for foreign residents at COEX in Seoul, Sept. 18, 2019. / Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Foreigners who obtained an advanced degree in Korea are having difficulties finding work due to insufficient employment information and a lack of Korean language skills, according to the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training.
The institute released a report, Sunday, on the career preferences of international graduates with a master's degree and above, and their perceptions on the domestic labor market.
The study found that around 25 percent of the 8,427 foreign nationals who had completed a master's course in the country between 2016 and 2018 were currently working here, and 53 percent of the 2,647 of those who completed their doctoral degrees here between 2017 and 2019 were employed in the country.
The vast majority of working foreign nationals with a master's degree were employed by private companies, while 70 percent of doctorate holders in employment were working in universities and research centers.
The study also included a survey conducted among 650 foreign residents who had finished a postgraduate course between 2015 and 2019 on the difficulties they had faced when looking for jobs after graduation.
When multiple replies were allowed, among the 426 master's degree holders, 49.5 percent noted a lack of information on companies and workplace environment, and 49 percent replied that there was a lack of recruitment information.
Many of them expressed discontent about insufficient career counseling programs provided by their universities as well as a lack of information about work visas.
As for the difficulties experienced by the 224 foreigners with a doctoral degree, 57 percent replied that there was limited recruitment information, followed by difficulties arising from their lack of Korean language skills chosen by 48 percent.
“In order to utilize the workforce of highly educated foreigners in the domestic job market, it is necessary to provide graduates who are seeking to pursue their careers here with customized information about career pathways and education on local corporate culture,” read the report.
“Also, universities should open separate language courses and mentoring programs for foreign students and support them in enhancing their Korean reading and writing skills,” suggested the report.