Job recovery gaining faster momentum

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Chae-pil, right, visits a booth on the opening day of the 2012 Korea Job Fair on Oct. 30 at the aT Center in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. The two-day event co-hosted by his ministry, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, and the Ministry of National Defense drew 90 small- and medium-sized firms seeking to hire jobseekers in their 20s and 30s.
/ Courtesy of Ministry of Employment and Labor

‘Open hiring' scheme helps boost employment of high school graduates

By Cho Jae-hyon

Following the global financial and economic crisis, the Korean government has put top priority on creating more jobs. The domestic employment market also suffered from the fallout of the financial crisis that peaked in 2009, with those losing their jobs outnumbering the newly-employed by more than 72,000 the following year.

To tackle the aggravated job market conditions, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, in cooperation with other ministries, adopted a package of swift and aggressive crisis management programs.

Most developed nations are struggling to create more jobs but they are seeing worsening employment conditions.

In contrast, Korea has been relatively quick in recovering from the shock. Despite the contraction in the number of new positions in 2009, the country has seen the amount of people newly hired grow steadily since 2010, when it recorded 323,000. It was an impressive turnaround from the year before, which was possible thanks to diverse measures initiated by the government.
Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Chae-pil, right, visits a booth on the opening day of the 2012 Korea Job Fair on Oct. 30 at the aT Center in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. The two-day event co-hosted by his ministry, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, and the Ministry of National Defense drew 90 small- and medium-sized firms seeking to hire jobseekers in their 20s and 30s.
/ Courtesy of Ministry of Employment and Labor

Fast job recovery

The employment rate of those aged between 15 and 64 recovered the level seen before the global financial crisis. The employment rate in that age bracket fell to a low of 63.3 percent in October 2009 but since then has risen steadily to 63.7 percent in October 2010 and recorded 64.6 percent in the same period this year.

Korea has posted a relatively fast growth in the number of employed people as it increased 1.7 percent from 2011, compared with 0.8 percent in the United Kingdom, 0.6 percent in the United States and minus 0.1 percent in Japan.

"We have established a framework for systematic job creation policies to make a virtuous cycle where economic growth leads to more jobs," Employment and Labor Minister Lee Chae-pil said during a recent interview.

To show its commitment to becoming a control tower orchestrating all steps to create jobs, the ministry added "employment" to its name, re-launching itself as the Ministry of Employment and Labor on July 5, 2010.

"I believe there is a mismatch between companies and jobseekers, which is one of the key reasons why young jobseekers find it hard to land decent jobs," Lee said. "Our steps to boost employment have put a greater focus on resolving this mismatch."

The government has expanded its support for companies to hire more workers, reforming the corporate tax system to establish an environment friendlier to employment.

To help resolve corporate difficulties involved in hiring workers, officials from the ministry have often conducted on-site visits and consultations. It is part of its programs to match employers and jobseekers.

'Open hiring'

One of the highlights of the government's job creation measures is the campaign to encourage companies to adopt "open hiring," a move to reform old and ineffective hiring practices.

Introduced in September 2011, open hiring is aimed at reforming old-fashioned employment practices at most companies, which place too much weight on job applicants' diplomas and other qualifications.

Big companies are often reluctant to give job opportunities to high school graduates, regardless of their abilities. The open hiring scheme is expected to become a catalyst to correct the undesirable hiring practicesin the corporate sector.

Government agencies and state-owned corporations are taking a leading role in hiring high school graduates, granting them opportunities to work as interns.

Thanks to the new system, the number of high school graduate interns rose to about 20,000 this year from 12,000 in 2001.

"The government is pressing ahead with diverse projects to spread open hiring to a wider range of companies," the ministry said in a statement.

Under the programs, students of vocational high schools visit small but competent companies based in the provinces. It is to give them an opportunity to consider working at promising provincial companies with a strong growth potential.

The ministry has carried out steps to strengthen onsite training of both teachers and students of vocational high schools and encourages companies to sign memorandums of understanding to hire more high school graduates.

"As a result, open hiring is steadily increasing, boosting the employment of high school graduates at companies," it said.

According to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about 21 percent its 310 member companies recently expanded employment of those with high school diplomas. The majority of its members said they have a plan to recruit high school graduates.

On July 13, the government announced a three-pronged strategy to help the open hiring system take firmer root. It is the continuous expansion of employment of high school graduates, the continuation of open hiring in personnel management at companies, and the establishment of an environment favorable to open hiring.

The employment rate of graduates from vocational high schools rose to 38.1 percent in April 2012, from 19.2 percent in April 2011 and was the same the previous year.

As part of moves to tackle the pervasive diploma inflation, the ministry plans to introduce further steps to sharpen the work skills of high school graduates.

Comprehensive support

Despite the improvement in data measuring employment conditions, people will not notice much difference as the figures indicate the actual job market situation.

In particular, the government is paying greater attention to improving the quality of employment as the gap between regular and non-permanentworkers remains wide, and college graduates still have difficulty landing jobs.

Another task facing the government is the increasing number of the country's baby boomers who are approaching retirement age but will account for a larger percentage of the Korea workforces going forward.

"Against this background, the government will continue to make efforts to create more job opportunities and narrow the gap between workers," the ministry said.

The ministry hasdispatched officials to companies and factories as part of ways to draw up measures tailored to the needs of employers and employees. Since 2011, regional employment and labor offices of the ministryhave dispatched officials to 25,607 worksites to listen to their difficulties related to hiring and working conditions. Of more than 17,100 cases reported by workplaces, 10,852 cases were resolved by onsite supportive programs.