Policy Plans

(1) How to strength en qualitativ e linkage to address unbalance in skill supply and improv e in dustries' satisfaction

First, stren gthen the alignment of education an d trainin g curriculum with in du stries' s needs. Specifically, make sp eedy an d continu ou s effort to revise an d maintain most up-to-date educational curriculum, based on the prosp ect of future human resources deman d . To incorporate w ork experience into education an d trainin g curriculum, Korea can either adopt an d modify Germany's du al program system or introduce a san dwich program system which consolidates short-term on-the-job trainin g at an aligned business with the school education . To stren gthen the role of instructors as the facilitator to integrate the education an d trainin g w ith the labor market an d as the vocational advisor, support should be provided to them for trainin g in diverse in dustries. Also, the stu dent internship system should be rolled out to the entire education an d

trainin g institutions, on-the-jot trainin g should be con ducted for at least six months, an d a credits recognition system should be adopted .

Secon d, develop a strategy to systematically integrate education an d trainin g curriculum with employers. First of all, it should be promoted to the employers that their p articip ation in the education an d trainin g curriculum is beneficial. A phased strategy should be developed to approach an d attract employers to the negotiation table. The key in the approach is to focu s on local in du stry . Establishin g a trainin g group company which integrates education an d trainin g institutions with the employer group w ould be helpful.

Third, facilitate bu siness alignment betw een the education an d trainin g institutions an d the in dustries. For this, an intermediary body should be installed to coordinate opinions an d exchan ge information in relation with the alignment programs betw een the education an d trainin g institutions an d the in dustries. Separate bu dget should be set w ithin education an d trainin g institutions to enable efficient management an d operation of on-the-job trainin g. For in du stries that participate in the in du stry-academy integration program, incentives should be provided, such as employment in du stry, w orker' s accident compensation insurance, or tax exemption benefits. In many cases, education an d trainin g institutions do not have information on the in dustries, or vice versa. Therefore, it is required to build information infrastructure to enable credible information distribution .

Fourth, stren gthen the flexibility in the education an d trainin g p athw ays.

For this, the follow in g examples that center on foreign examples can be benchmarked : Build a specialized education system in vocational secon dary schools, an d integrate it with colleges or universities.;

Modularize the curriculum of education an d trainin g institutions so that credits can be recognized an d linkage can be stren gthened amon g them . (2) How to strength en quantitativ e linkage to address unemploym ent among the y outh

First, provide substantial vocational trainin g for the unemployed . For this, programs should be develop ed an d implemented to convert the major subject areas of the unemployed youn g who experience skill gap . A trainin g lad der should be developed from low to advanced levels to provide an institutionalized system where the participation of the

unemployed in the vocation trainin g can lead to sustained employment an d career development.

Secon d, exp an d th e in tern sh ip for th e you th to create jobs.

Esp ecially, th e in tern sh ip -based job creation sh ou ld be exp an d ed in th e p u blic sector d u rin g econ om ic recession . En trep ren eu rsh ip sh ou ld be stren gth en ed focu sin g on in d u stries th at are sp ecialized for th e you th . For th ose you th s w h o h av e little ed u cation or skill lev el, m ore job op p ortu n ities sh ou ld be created in areas related to social w elfare an d p u blic service.

Th ird, d evelop sp ecialized labor m arket p rogram s accord in g to th e econ om ic cycle. Du rin g th e p eriod of econ om ic u p tu rn, job-seekin g activities sh ou ld be su p p orted to facilitate fast job fin d in g. Du rin g th e d ow n tu rn p eriod, su p p ort sh ou ld be p rovid ed for v ocation al train in g an d em p loym en t su bsidy sh ou ld be exp an d ed for tem p orary in tern sh ip -based jobs for th e you th, in ord er to gen erate con d ition s for th em to en ter th e labor m arket by lev eragin g p olicies.

Fourth, provide protection to the youth who w ork in p art-time jobs. It should be implemented as part of the unemployment solution plan for the youth who are bein g frequently dropped out from the labor market du e to insufficient job openin gs an d low skill levels.

(3) How to build th e infrastructure to strength en linkage of education and training w ith the lab or market

First, build a system to provide accurate an d comprehensive information on education, career an d employment, arran ge employment, an d provide counselin g service.

Secon d, build a social p artnership system betw een those that are related to the linkage of education an d trainin g with the labor market - namely, the government, providers of public education an d trainin g, providers of private education an d trainin g, corp orations, employer' s group, an d the w orker' s group (labor union).

Third, education an d trainin g institutions should revise their curriculum to respon d to the needs of the in dustries, an d organize the evalu ation system, in order to stren gthen the competitiveness.