Policy Issu es for Fu rth er D ev elop m ent

<1> Exp an sion of th e training infrastru cture

Th e governm ent h as stren gth en ed Hu m an Resou rces Inform ation system (H RIS) to h elp train ees access to inform ation on trainin g cou rses or qu alification s.

Given th e rap idly ch an gin g in du strial n eed s, trainin g facilities an d equ ip m en ts n eed to be u p grad ed tow ard knowled ge based trad es. In addition, attaining qu alified trainin g in stru ctors becom es an u rgent p olicy con cern to im p rov e th e effectiven ess of vocation al trainin g .

<2> Coordinating roles of pub lic training and priv ate train in g

The public sector should play a role of infrastructure in vocational training by training w orkers needed for sophisticated indu stries along with the disadvantaged in th e labou r m arket . In ad d ition , it sh ou ld collect an d dissem in ate in form ation of vocation al trainin g for th e p rivate sector .

Meanw hile, th e p rivate sector sh ou ld m eet th e ever ch an gin g trainin g n eed s p rom p tly, throu gh trainin g for variou s trad es.

<3> Su pp ort f or lif e lo n g learn in g

□ Supp ort f or emp loy ers

Due to rapid technological development and globalization, em p loyers ten d to be relu ctan t to in vest in h u m an resou rces d evelop m ent . In stead th ey p refer to em p loy readily available w orkers. Again st this backdrop, employers' efforts to develop human resou rces n eed to be encou raged w ith variou s incentiv es.

Benefits of employm ent insurance should be extend ed an d variou s incentives in clu d in g tax credit sh ou ld be offered to em p loyers in a bid to attract investm ent in trainin g.

A variety of su p p ortin g activities are n ecessary in bu ild in g H RD system in enterp rises an d establish in g『vocation al trainin g con sortiu m 』for sm all an d m ediu m -sized en terp rises is also recom m en d ed .

□ Support for emp loy ees

Training subsidies by means of employment insurance n eed to be expanded for employees and public vocational training institutions can also play a role of life-long learnin g center for th e sake of com m u nity resid en ts.

Takin g ad vantage of th e d igital environm ent, variou s services including『distance-learning』 via internet are also en cou raged .

< Bro adb an d Internet Access Rate >

(Unit : %)

Korea Can ada U .S .A Japan

9.20 3.91 2.25 0.5

※ Access rate : the n u m ber of Intern et u ser s to 100 p erson s(as of the en d of 2000)

※ Sou rce : OECD, 2001. 5.

<4 > Increase in p ub lic recog nitio n of th e qu alificatio n sy stem

In ord er for th e qu alification system to fu nction p rop erly, it is im p erative to keep u p w ith rap id ch an ges in occu p ation s. In this resp ect, p articip ation from indu stries, trade unions and field exp erts is encou raged to make new qu alifications and training criteria meet current indu strial trends.

National recognition is necessary to activate the private qu alification system . Also, qu alification s ap p roved and recognized within indu stries should be d evelop ed .

<5> Bri dging th e dig ital div ide

Un d er th e kn ow led ge based econ om y, u n equ al access to n ew tech n ology an d to learnin g h as becom e a m ajor p olicy concern . To close th e digital d ivid e th e follow in gs are recom m en d ed :

・exp anding continu ou s education an d training opportunities for w orkers in small and m edium-sized enterp rises in p articu lar;

・assisting human resources development for the disadvantaged in th e labou r m arket su ch as w om en, th e h an dicap p ed, sch ool d rop ou ts etc;

・im proving the effectiven ess of vocational training for the u n em p loyed w ith in-d ep th cou n selin g an d target sp ecific train in g .

< Continuous education rate for adu lt(25-64 y ears old) >

(Unit : %)

Ko rea U.S .A Ca nada Fra nce Ge rma ny

5.4 34.0 28.0 40.0 33.0

※ Sou rce : OECD, Edu cation at a Glance, 1999.

<6> Strengthening Partnersh ip betw een Shareh olders

Th e ch an gin g n atu re of th e labou r m arket n eed s a n ew ap p roach to hu m an resou rces d evelop m ent . Enh anced involvem ent of sh areh old ers in H RD offers th e p otential to brin g abou t better ou tcom es .

Major shareholders : trad e unions, employers, train in g p rovid ers, com m u n ities etc.

The Tripartite Commission composed of the representativ es of labou r, m an agem ent an d governm en t, reach ed an agreement on vocational training reform in July, 2001.

Providing trade unions with training fund to facilitate vocation al trainin g

Enhancing the involvement of labour and m anagem ent in th e d ecision m akin g p rocess for vocation al trainin g etc.

Regard in g to p artn ership , coop eration betw een in d u stries an d ed u cation al in stitu tion s, th ese relation ship s are esp ecially im p ortant to m ake ed u cation an d trainin g m eet th e in du strial d em an d s.

Training an d M anag em ent of V ocati onal Training