연구자료 02 - 9
아・태 지역 회원국 인적자원개발 및 직업교육훈련 분야 전문가/ 관계 공무원 연수 프로그램 결과보고서
2002. 9.
연구자료 02 - 9
아・태 지역 회원국 인적자원개발 및 직업교육훈련 분야 전문가/ 관계 공무원 연수 프로그램 결과보고서
The UNESCO Regional Center of Excellence in TVET Training Program
2002. 9.
머리말
본원의 「유네스코 직업기술교육훈련 우수 지역센터」에서는 아・태 지역 에 있는 유네스코 회원국 전문가와 공무원을 위한 연수 프로그램 시행을 위 하여 지난 해에 요구조사를 시행한 바 있다. 그 결과 여러 회원국에서 인적 자원개발 및 직업교육훈련 분야의 제도와 정책, 자격제도, 직업교육훈련교사 양성, 직업교육훈련기관 운영 등의 분야에 관하여 우리 나라의 경험을 배우 고자 하는 요구가 많은 것으로 나타났다. 이에 본원은 처음으로 유관 분야 의 외국인 관계자를 대상으로 연수 프로그램을 개발하여 시행하기에 이르렀다.
본 프로그램을 통하여 우리 나라의 인적자원개발과 직업교육훈련 분야의 최근 정책동향, 현황, 성공사례 등을 제시하여 참가국이 자체적인 모델 발굴 에 참고할 수 있는 정보를 제공하였고, 참가국간의 최근 정책에 관한 동향 과 경험을 교류할 수 있도록 하였으며, 직업교육훈련 기관 및 산업체 현장 방문을 통하여 우수 사례를 확인할 수 있도록 프로그램을 구성하여 운영하 였다. 참가 대상은 동남아시아지역과 중동지역, 구소련연방국가지역의 지원 자 중에서 지역별로 적절히 안배하여 엄정하게 선발하였다.
연수프로그램의 운영은 시행되는 기간은 비교적 짧은 반면, 준비하는 과 정은 다른 어느 사업 못지 않게 복잡하고 시간이 많이 소요된다. 본 프로그 램을 처음 준비하여 시작하면서 예기치 못했던 시행착오도 겪었고, 운영하 면서 개선할 점도 적지 않게 발견되었다. 앞으로 본원의 지역센터를 세계적 인 기관으로 성장시키기 위해서는 연수프로그램을 더욱 다듬고 내용을 알차 게 보완하고 다양화하려는 노력이 필요할 것으로 보인다.
이번에 처음 운영한 연수프로그램의 결과를 토대로 더욱 개선된 프로그램 을 개발하고, 또한 결과를 잘 활용하여 본원 활동의 부가가치를 높이는데 기여하기를 바란다. 아울러 본 프로그램의 기획과 운영, 결과 정리에 이르기 까지 수고한 본원 연구진의 노고를 치하하며, 연구진을 도와 본 프로그램을 성공적으로 수행하도록 한 국제협력팀원에게 사의를 표한다.
2002년 9월 원장 강무섭
차 례
Ⅰ. 연수프로그램 개요 1
1. 필요성 및 목적 1
2. 내용 2
3. 기대 효과 및 활용방안 8
4. 결과평가 9
Ⅱ. 부록 12
1. 연수 프로그램 소개 책자 내용 12
2. 프로그램 관련 자료 24
3. 강사 인적 사항 40
4. 문서서신(팩스, 이메일) 41
Contents
Econ o m ic Restru cturin g an d V ocatio nal Education an d
Train ing in Korea 1
-- Young-Hy un Lee/ Korea Research In stitu te f or Vocational Education an d Train ing
H u m an Resources D ev elop m ent Strateg ies for Korea 37 Human Resources, knowledge, and a N ew Take-Off
-- Yong-sik Yoon/ M inistry of Education an d H uman Resou rces Developm en t
V ocatio nal Trainin g Sy stem in Korea 53
-- Chul-Gy un Jung/ M inistry of Labour
Train ing V ocation al Training In stru ctors an d M an agem ent of th e
Train ing In stru ctors 80
-- Sang-Bong W on/ Korea University of Technology & Education
M anag em ent of V ocatio nal Train in g Institutio n 96 -- D uk-H o Kim/ Korea Foun dation of Poly technic Colleges
V ocatio nal Qu alificatio n Sy stem in Korea 117 -- Jeong-y oon Cho/ Korea Research In stitu te f or Vocational Education an d Train ing
Econ om ic Restru ctu ring an d V ocati onal Edu cati on an d Train in g in Korea
Young-Hyun Lee Korea Research Institute f or Vocational Education and Training
Ⅰ. Cou ntry Profile
Located east of th e Asian Con tin en t, th e Rep u blic of Korea is a d em ocratic state w ith a fiv e th ou san d years of h istory . Korea belon gs to th e n orth tem p erate zon e; h ow ever, its clim atic d ifferences in tem p eratu re betw een su m m er an d w inter are affected by th e contin ent an d seas su rrou n din g th e Korean p en in su la . Su m m er lasts from Ju n e to Au gu st, th e m on soon al clim ate brin gs 50-60 p ercent of th e annu al p recip itation of abou t 1,200m m . Its w inter, from Decem ber to Febru ary is gen erally cold an d dry w ith occasion al h eavy sn ow an d n orthw esterly w in d s. In betw een th ese extrem es, th e sp rin g is m ild an d th e au tu m n is cool an d seren e w ith clear, balm y skies.
Th e Korean p enin su la sh ares a bord er w ith Chin a an d Ru ssia in th e n orth across th e Am n okkan g an d Tu m an gan g Rivers. It faces Jap an to th e east sep arated by th e East Sea an d Chin a to th e w est sep arated by th e Yellow Sea . Ap p roxim ately 70 p ercen t of th e p enin su la is m ou ntain ou s, p articu larly in th e n orth an d alon g th e eastern coast of th e Penin su la. Th e Korean p en in su la as a w h ole h as a total lan d m ass of abou t 220 th ou san d s squ are kilom eters (85,000 squ are m iles), w hich is a little sm aller th an Great Britain .
Th e p en in su la is divid ed into th e Rep u blic of Korea in th e Sou th an d N orth Korea in th e n orth by th e d em ilitarized zon e at rou gh ly 38 p arallel Latitu d e n orth of equ ator . Th e Rep u blic of Korea covers 45 p ercent of th e Korean p enin su lar w ith a total lan d area of abou t 99 th ou san d s squ are kilom eters .
Accordin g to th e w ritten history of Korea, th e earliest state w as fou n d ed by Tan gu n, th e m ythical p rogenitor of th e Korean p eop le.
This tribal state, called Ancient Ch osu n, w as term in ated arou n d 100 B.C. w ith th e adven t of th e "Three Kin gd om s." Th e Three Kin gd om s w ere follow ed by Unified Shilla in th e sou th in th e 7t h centu ry an d Parh ae w hich su cceed ed Kogu ryo in th e n orth . Thu s, Korea entered a brief p eriod of "Tw o Kin gd om s " w hich en d ed w ith th e fall of Parh ae. In th e 10t h centu ry, th e Koryo Dyn asty reign ed on th e Korean p en in su la, follow ed by th e Ch osu n Dyn asty in th e 14t h centu ry, w h ich contin u ed u p to th e Rep u blic of Korea, in au gu rated in 1948 after 35 years of in terru p tion by Jap an ese colon ial ru le.
Korea is a con stitu tion al rep u blic. Th e execu tiv e, th e legislative, an d th e ju d iciary con stitu te th e three branch es of governm ent u n d er th e Presid ent . Th e legislatu re is u n icam eral an d th e ju d iciary is com p osed of th e low er cou rt, th e cou rt of ap p eal an d th e Su p rem e Cou rt . Th e n ation is d ivid ed into 16 ad m inistrativ e u nits, w hich are sev en m etrop olitan cities an d nin e p rovinces .
Eth nically, Korean s belon gs to th e Mon golian race an d th ey are a h om ogen eou s race sp eakin g on e lan gu age. In ad d ition, th ey p ossess th eir ow n cu ltu re an d cu stom s w hich d iffer from th ose of th eir n earest n eigh bors, Chin a an d Jap an . Th ey also h av e th eir ow n u niqu e Korean p h on etic alp h abet, th e H an-Gu l, w hich is regard ed as on e of th e m ost origin al an d yet th e m ost scientific of th e variou s p h on etic w ritin g system s.
Th e Rep u blic of Korea h as an estim ated p op u lation of 46.1 m illion w ith an annu ally d ecreasin g rate of 1.5 p ercent in 2000.
Abou t 74.8% of th e total p op u lation liv es in u rban area . Th e p op u lation d en sity is on e of th e high est in th e w orld , accom m od atin g 471 p erson s p er squ are kilo m eter .
Ap p roxim ately 53.6% of Korean adh ered to on e typ e of religion or an oth er, Bu d dhists form in g th e largest grou p w ith 49.0%, Ch ristian s rep resen tin g 47.7% (Protestan t : 34.7%, Cath olic: 13.0%) an d Confu cian s rep resentin g 1.2 % (N ation al Statistical Office, Social In d icators in Korea, 2000).
Ⅱ. Social-Econ om ic Contexts
Over th e p ast three d ecad es, th e Korean econ om y d evelop ed at a rem arkably fast rate an d th e cou ntry cam e to be kn ow n as on e of th e Asian 'fou r tigers' . This high-grow th p eriod w as ch aracterized by su bstantial increases in inv estm ent in p h ysical an d hu m an cap ital.
Korea began th e early 1960s as a typ ical labor-su rp lu s econ om y w ith a scarce en d ow m ent of n atu ral resou rces an d a sm all d om estic m arket . Th e governm ent establish ed econ om ic grow th as its p rim ary goal an d began to m obilize th e n ation' s resou rces tow ard this en d . Du rin g th e initial stage of exp ort p rom otion in th e 1960s, u n skilled an d sem i-skilled w orkers w ere rap idly m obilized into labor-inten sive m anu factu rin g in d u stries su ch as textiles, footw ear an d garm ents. Usin g its abu n d an t su p p ly of labor, Korea achieved an extrem ely rap id econ om ic exp an sion .
Du rin g th e 1970s, th e Korean governm ent began to u n d ertake a
fu n d am ental stru ctu ral ch an ge tow ard s th e d evelop m ent of h eavy-ch em ical in du stries. Th e governm ent u sed com m ercial loan s throu gh th e n ation alized banks to rew ard com p anies con form in g to state p olicies . After th e early 1970s th ese ' p olicy loan s' incentives w ere p rovid ed to firm s to inv est in state-targeted h eavy m anu factu rin g in du stries. In resp on se to su ch grow th-m in d ed p olicies, th ese firm s exp an d ed th eir econ om ic activities, m ost of th em follow in g strategies based h eavily on low p rod u ct costs.
By th e 2000s, a sh ift tow ard s m ore techn ologically ad vanced p rod u cts w as u n d erw ay, an d h igh-techn ology an d service in du stries w ere able to com p ete su ccessfu lly w ith in d u stries of m ore d evelop ed econ om ies.
From 1970 to 2000, th e labor force in Korea m ore th an d ou bled from 10 m illion to 22 m illion . Th e labor force p articip ation rate increased from 47.6 p er cent to 60.7 p er cent (table 1).
Over th e p ast 30 years, Korea' s econ om ic grow th h as been sp ectacu lar . From 1970 to 2000, th e gross d om estic p rod u ct (GDP) rose at an annu al rate of n early 8 p er cent from a p er cap ita incom e level of US$ 650 in 1970 to US$ 9,675 in 2000. This grow th resu lted in a 15-fold increase in p er cap ita GDP in th e last three d ecad es.
1. Ch an g es in th e M an ner of Em p loy m ent
Th e rap id ad vancem ent of n ew techn ologies an d th e globalization of trad e an d labor m arkets are h avin g a significant im p act on th e n atu re of w ork, th e w ay it is organized an d th e skills it requ ires.
Th ese ch an ges com p rise th e grow th of th e service sector, inclu din g
Table 1: Background statistics
1970 1980 1990 1997 1998 1999 2000 Population(thousands) 32,24 1 38,124 42,869 45,99 1 46,430 46,858 46, 136 GDP per capita(U S$)¹ 650 2,324 7,75 1 10,363 6,843 8,660 9,675
Unemployment rate 4.4 5.2 2.4 2.6 6.8 6.3 4.1
Labour force
(thousands) 10,062 14,43 1 18,539 2 1,604 2 1,390 2 1,363 2 1,950 Labour force
Participation rate² 47.6 59.0 60.0 62.2 60.7 60.5 60.7
1) Usin g cu rrent p u rch asin g p ow er p arties, at cu rren t p rices.
2) Pop u lation aged 15 an d over
Sou rces: N ation al Statistical Office (1997, 1981, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), Pop u lation Projection s for Pop u lation estim ates;
Annu al rep ort on th e Econ om ically active p op u lation su rvey, variou s issu es.
A shift to casu al or p art-tim e w ork; occu p ation al ch an ge an d th e em ergence of n ew occu p ation s. Du rin g th e rap id in d u strialization in th e last th ree d ecad es, th e p rop ortion of h igh-skilled w orkers increased, w hile th e p rop ortion of u n skilled w orkers d eclin ed .
A m ajority of Korean s are em p loyed in sm all an d m ed iu m -sized firm s. In 1999, abou t 81.9 p ercent of th e total labou r force w as em p loyed in sm all sized firm s in sm all an d m ed iu m sized firm s.
Th ere w ere 2.77 m illion sm all an d m ed iu m -sized firm s rep resentin g 99.7 percent of Korean businesses and employing 8.87 million persons.1)
A large p rop ortion of Korean s are em p loyed in ' n on-regu lar' jobs of sh ort d u ration . In 2000, m ore th an h alf of all em p loyees h ad
1) National St atistics Office, Republic of Kor ea (1999), Report on the Cen su s on Basic Char act eristics of E st ablishment s.
eith er a tem p orary or a d aily contract, an d th e p rop ortion of em p loyees w ith a ' regu lar' contract w as th erefore less th an h alf.
Th e p rop ortion of em p loyees in ' n on-regu lar' jobs h as continu ed to grow in th e last tw o d ecad es.
A d etailed an alysis of em p loym ent by statu s su ggests a d egree of labou r m arket d u ality by gen d er, age an d edu cation lev el, w ith you n ger an d high er-ed u cated m en p erform in g m ost regu lar jobs.
Th e incid ence of n on-regu lar w ork is high am on g w om en , old er w orkers an d th e low er-ed u cated . Am on g OECD cou ntries in 2000, Korea h ad th e low est nu m ber of w orkers h oldin g a p erm an en t job, follow ed by Tu rkey . In 2000, abou t 29.7 p er cent of Korean w orkers h ad a regu lar job, less th an h alf th e figu re of th ose in regu lar em p loym en t in m ost oth er OECD cou ntries.
2. U nem p loy m ent
With its high econom ic p erform ance, Korea h as su cceed ed in absorbin g th e m assive n ew labor force w hich entered the m arket.
Korea h as exp erienced very low un emp loym ent rates in spite of its rap id econ om ic grow th .
The fin ancial crisis w hich started at th e end of 1997 brou ght the grow th process to a su d d en, u nexp ected halt . The crisis forced th e governm ent to agree to a rescu e p ackage w ith the Internation al Monetary Fun d (IMF). Th e u nem ploym ent rate rocketed from 2.6 p er cent to a p eak of 8.5 p er cent in early 1999, and m ore th an on e m illion Korean s w ere throw n into p overty . Th e difficu lt econ om ic an d social situ ation forced the au thorities to im plem ent qu ickly a w id e ran ge of m acroeconom ic an d stru ctu ral reform s, notably in the areas of labor m arket p olicies and social safety n ets. In resp onse to th ese reform s, th e econ om y has now turn ed th e corn er, p erm ittin g th e
u nem ploym ent rate to fall rapidly to about 4 p ercent, w hile short-term prosp ects p oint to a continu ation of the econ omic recovery.
First, it w ou ld seem that youth u n em ploym ent is stru ctu ral in n ature and th at it w ill requ ire p olicy attention . Unem ploym ent rates of you ng Korean s aged 15 to 24 have tend ed to grow , an d th ey reach ed high levels in the afterm ath of th e crisis. High rates of youth u nem ploym ent m ay reflect a long job search p rocess on th e p art of u niversity gradu ates, w h o often stay at h om e and can therefore be selective w h en looking for a job. In ad dition, th e m ism atch betw een certain edu cation cu rricula an d labor m arket requirem ents creates seriou s school-to-w ork transition problem s for many young new entrants.
Secon d, Korean u n em ploym ent h as long been m u ch higher am on g higher-educated w orkers th an am ong their low er-educated cou nterp arts, in contrast w ith the p attern p revailin g in oth er OECD cou ntries.
H ow ever, since th e crisis u n em ploym ent rates of the low er-edu cated h ave record ed a m arked up w ard trend . Unem ploym ent rates am on g w orkers w ith high-sch ool edu cation al attainm ent are relatively high, su ggestin g that high-school and vocation al-trainin g curricu la m ight n ot adequ ately m atch labor m arket requ irem ents.
Ⅲ. V ocational Edu cation an d Training
Vocation al edu cation an d trainin g are sep arated in Korea . Vocation al ed u cation is im p lem ented u n d er th e form al ed u cation system w hich is ad m inistered by th e Min istry of Edu cation an d H u m an Resou rces Develop m ent .2) Vocation al trainin g is carried ou t as non-formal training which is administered by the Ministry of Labour.
2) T he Ministry of E ducation w as r eor g anized as th e Ministry of E ducation and Hum an Resour ces Dev elopm ent in January , 2001.
1. Education Sy stem
Korea u ses a sch ool ' lad d er' follow in g a sim ilar track of 6-3-3-4, p rovidin g six years of com p u lsory p rim ary ed u cation, three years of m id dle sch ool, an d three of high sch ool, follow ed by tw o or fou r m ore years in colleges an d u niversities.
Mid d le sch ool edu cation w ith a d u ration of three years is offered for stu d en ts aged 12-15. All ap p licants from p rim ary sch ools are accep ted an d allocated by lottery to sch ools w ith in th eir resid ential d istricts. Regu lar activities are d ivid ed into requ ired an d electiv e su bjects.
High sch ool edu cation aim s at p rovidin g ad vanced gen eral an d sp ecific ed u cation on th e basis of m id d le sch ool ed u cation . High sch ools are classified in to acad em ic, vocation al, an d oth er high sch ool' s foreign lan gu age, art & ath letic, an d science high sch ools.
Stu d ents in acad em ic high sch ools, w h ere ad vanced gen eral ed u cation is p racticed , select a m ajor in th e secon d year from th e areas of hu m anities an d social sciences, n atu ral sciences, an d vocation al ed u cation . Th eir selection s are based on th e stu d ents' ap titu d e an d interest, in tu rn, w hich p rovid es a link w ith th e sch ool cou rses an d th eir fu tu re careers. Th e m ajority of stu d ents op t to sp en d th e first tw o years as p rep aration for u niversity ap p lication . Stu d ents m ay tran sfer to th e vocation al track at th e beginnin g of th e third grad e.
Th e high er edu cation al in stitu tion s are divid ed into fou r categories : colleges an d u niversities; u n iversities of ed u cation an d colleges of ed u cation; ju n ior colleges, th e Air & Corresp on d ence University, p olytechnic u niversities3) an d oth er sch ools (inclu d in g
3) Open univ er sity w as r en am ed polyt echnic univ er sity based on th e Higher Education Law which cam e int o oper ation in Mar ch , 1998. How ev er , open
th eological colleges an d sem in aries). Most h igh er ed u cation al in stitu tion s are u n d er th e su p ervision of th e Ministry of Edu cation . Th e Ministry of Ed u cation an d H u m an resou rce Develop m ent h as control ov er su ch m atters as stu d ent qu otas, qu alification s of teachin g staff, cu rricu lu m an d d egree requ irem en ts.
Korea h as a u niqu e edu cation system ch aracterized by m u ch larger p riv ate sector rep resentation an d inv estm ent, an d a relatively sm all p u blicly fin anced sector com p ared to oth er in du strialized n ation s. In th e p ast three d ecad es, th e gov ernm ent h as, throu gh its high ly regu lated an d cen tralized governin g system , attain ed rem arkable ed u cation al achievem ents. Since 1970, Korea h as m aintain ed fu ll enrolem ent in p rim ary ed u cation . Illiteracy d eclin ed from over 10% in 1970 to virtu ally nil in 1997 (World Bank, 1999a). Gross enrolem ents in secon d ary ed u cation increased from 40% in 1970 to becom e alm ost u niversal by 1997. At th e tertiary level, Korea ranks third am on g th e OECD cou ntries in th e ed u cation al attainm ent of its p op u lation , an d 84 % of its acad em ic high -sch ool grad u ates entered a u n iversity or a college in 2000 (42.0 p er cent of v ocation al high sch ool gradu ates entered a u niversity or college in th e sam e year). Sch ools arou n d th e cou n try h ave very low d rop -ou t rates: 0.8 % for m id d le sch ool, 2.1% for high sch ool an d 2.5 % for high er edu cation . Du e to this rap id exp an sion in sch oolin g, gen d er d isp arities h ave been elim in ated at both th e p rim ary an d secon d ary levels, alth ou gh th ey still exist at th e tertiary level. At th e sam e tim e, class sizes h ave fallen for all levels of ed u cation an d p u p il teach er ratios h ave becom e sm aller, alth ou gh th ey rem ain con sid erably high er th an th e average in certain OECD an d oth er ad vance cou ntries.
univ er sities ar e nam ed in v ariou s w ay s depen din g on the mission an d objectiv es of th e univ er sity .
2. V ocation al Edu catio n
Th e largest elem ent of Korea' s system of v ocation al edu cation an d trainin g is th e system of vocation al edu cation at sch ools.
Initial trainin g (p re-em p loym ent trainin g) is p rovid ed at th e senior secon d ary level (v ocation al high sch ools) an d p ost-secon d ary level ju nior colleges.
Vocation al ed u cation aim s at p rovidin g ad vanced gen eral ed u cation as w ell as vocation al edu cation in th e field s of agricu ltu re, tech n ology, com m erce, an d m arin e & fish eries. In 2001, th ere w ere 759 v ocation al high sch ools w ith a total enrollm en t of 651,198 w hich accou nted for abou t 34.1 p er cent of total h igh sch ool enrollm ent . M ost vocation al stu d ents w ere takin g p rogram s in senior high sch ools of bu sin ess/ com m erce an d techn ology .
Th e cu rricu lu m of v ocation al high sch ools is com p osed of gen eral an d vocation al su bjects. Stu d ents are requ ired to take betw een 204 an d 216 u nits du rin g th e three years of stu dy p eriod or six sem esters . Of th e 204-216 u nits, stu d ents are requ ired to take 104-154 u n its of gen eral su bjects an d 88-122 u nits of vocation al su bjects. Of th e 82-122 u nits allocated to v ocation al su bjects, at least 50 p ercent of th e u nits or 41-61 u nits sh ou ld be allocated for p ractical session s in th e case of technical h igh sch ools.
Th e requ ired p eriod of stu dy in all n ation al, p u blic, an d vocation al high sch ools is three years. Th e sch ools op erate effective field trainin g p rogram s in coop eration w ith in divid u al in du stries.
On e to tw elve m onth s of field trainin g is requ ired for techn ology m ajors; on e to six m onth s for agricu ltu re an d com m erce m ajors;
on e to tw elv e m onth s for fish ery an d m aritim e m ajors .
Figu re 1: Sup p ly Sy stem of Sk ille d M anp ow er
S our ce: Ministry of Labour (2001). T he Curr ent Statu s of Vocational T r aining Pr ogr am s, p . 20.
Th e p u rp ose of ju nior college edu cation is to p rodu ce m id d le-lev el technician s equ ip p ed w ith a solid base of th eories an d skills . Th eir sp ecialized cou rses are grou p ed into technical, agricu ltu ral, nu rsin g, fish ery, h ealth, com m ercial an d bu sin ess, h om e econ om ics, arts an d athletics, an d so on w ith tw o or three year p rogram s d ep en d in g on th e cou rses. Th e nu rsin g, clinical p ath ology, p hysical cu re, rad iation, fishin g, n avigation an d en gin eerin g p rogram s requ ire three years of ed u cation . Th e com m u nication p rogram is th e only on e requ irin g tw o an d a h alf
Techni cal And Ski l l ed
Manpower
Sci ent i s t
Engi neer
R & D Suppor t R & D Pr oduct i on/
Management
Gr aduat e School Col l ege
Pol yt echni c Col l ege Techni ci an
( Mul t i - s ki l l ed Wor ker )
Gener al Mul t i - s ki l l ed
Wor ker Pr oduct i on
Mul t i - s ki l l ed
Wor ker
Pr oduct i on management I nt er medi at e
l evel
Vocat i onal Tr ai ni ng
Ski l l ed Wor ker
Pr oduct i on management
Oper at i on
Techni cal Hi gh School
years of stu dy an d th e rest requ ire tw o years of ed u cation .
Since th eir establishm en t in 1979, th e nu m ber of ju nior vocation al colleges h as grow n to 158 as of 2001 w ith a total enrollm ent of 952,649 (inclu din g stu d en ts on leave of absence).
Th e p articip ation rate of adu lts in p ost-secon d ary vocation al ed u cation is low . Only 9.1 p er cent of ju nior college stu d ents an d 19.7 p er cen t of p olytechn ic u niv ersity stu d ents w ere aged over 25 years old in 1999.
3. V ocation al Training
In th e 1960s th e Korean governm ent establish ed a vast econ om ic d evelop m ent p lan an d restru ctu red th e v ocation al edu cation an d trainin g system in ord er to su p p ly th e m anp ow er n ecessary to im p lem en t th e p lan . As a resu lt, m ost form al vocation al edu cation w as p rovid ed w ith in th e state ed u cation system , an d w as system atically p lann ed an d stan d ardized . Th e gov ernm ent rap idly exp an d ed en rollm ent in vocation al sch ools in th e 1960s. H ow ev er, th e form al vocation al sch ools w ere n ot able to train su fficient tech nical m an p ow er for th e rap id ly in d u strializin g cou ntry . In ord er to train en ou gh w orkers to m eet th e increasin g in du strial d em an d s, th e governm ent en acted the Vocational Training Law in 1967 as a resu lt of w hich m any n ew vocation al train in g in stitu tes w ere establish ed .
Th e vocation al train in g p rogram s are classified into initial trainin g, u p grad e trainin g an d job tran sfer trainin g; w hich d ep en d on th e cu rricu lu m , du ration an d train ee p rofiles . H ow ever, it d oes n ot m ake clear distin ction s betw een th e last tw o categories. In most cases, further training or in-service training is used to include both .
Initial trainin g aim s to train basic com p etencies th at are requ ired
in th e w orkp lace an d is inten d ed for th ose n ew ly seekin g em p loym ent or p rosp ective reem p loym en t w orkers, su ch as high sch ool grad u ates, form er sold iers an d th e u n em p loyed . This typ e of trainin g lasts for at least on e m on th . Program s of initial trainin g sh ou ld inclu d e (1) gen eral ed u cation w hich is coordin ated w ith p ractical trainin g, (2) basic trainin g in kn ow led ge an d skills com m on to related occu p ation s w hich is given by a trainin g in stitu tion or in an u n d ertakin g on or off th e job, an d (3) sp ecial skills to assist w orkers' em p loyablity .
Up gradin g in stru ction is p rovid ed for w orkers w h o h ave alread y com p leted initial trainin g (or th ose w h o are d eem ed to already p ossess basic skills) an d w ish to acqu ire fu rth er skills. Th e d u ration of th e trainin g requ ired m u st be lon ger th an 20 h ou rs.
Job tran sfer trainin g aim s to assist th ose w h o are seekin g to tran sfer jobs or u n em p loyed w orkers to d evelop n ew skills. Th e d u ration of th e trainin g p rogram m u st be lon ger th an tw o w eeks.
Train in g m eth od s are classified in to three categories : in stitu tion al trainin g, on -th e-job trainin g an d on -lin e (w eb-based) trainin g .
4 . Pu b lic Train in g
Vocation al trainin g in Korea assu m es tw o form s d ep en d in g on th e typ e of trainin g in stitu te,: p u blic an d in-p lant vocation al trainin g . Pu blic trainin g is u n d ertaken by th e Hu m an Resou rces Develop m ent Services of Korea (H RD Korea), th e Korean Ch am ber of Com m erce an d In d u stry (KCCI), governm ental agen cies, local au ton om ies an d th e Korea Em p loym ent Prom otion Agency for th e Disabled (KEPAD). It aim s to train sem i-skilled an d skilled w orkers in p rogram s lastin g from three m onth s to tw o years.
In-p lant train in g is u n d ertaken by firm s.
Th e H RD Korea, KCCI an d KEPAD are concern ed w ith trad es th at are com m only requ ired by m anu factu rin g in d u stry (d ie-m akin g an d m achin e w ork), exp ort oriented trad es (gem -cu ttin g, d yein g an d w eavin g etc.), an d trad es in ad vanced an d n ew tech n ology (CAM). Governm ental agencies concern th em selv es w ith trad es su ch as carp entry, bricklayin g an d electronic w eldin g, aim in g at trainin g for th e self-d evelop m ent of p rison ers an d incu m bents, w hile local au ton om ies con cern th em selves w ith trad es n ecessary for increasin g th e incom e of farm h ou seh old s.
In 1999 th ere w ere 95 p u blic vocation al trainin g in stitu tes of w hich 40 p u blic vocation al train in g in stitu tes cam e u n d er th e ju risd iction of H RD Korea . Also inclu d ed w ere 23 p olytechnic colleges w hich w ere p laced u n d er th e au th ority of th e Korean Fou n d ation for Polytech nic Colleges in Decem ber 1998.
5. In-p lant Train in g
If an em p loyer ch ooses to train , th ere are three d ifferent w ays of d oin g so : (1) in d ep en d ent trainin g at his/ h er ow n in-p lant train in g in stitu te, (2) coop erative trainin g w ith oth er em p loyers, or (3) com m ission ed throu gh a third p arty to u n d ertake actu al trainin g on his or h er beh alf.
Korea su ffers from an u n d er-p rovision of enterp rise trainin g, p articu larly am on g sm all enterp rises . Th e system of trainin g for th e em p loyed, w hich exists u n d er th e EIS, h as h elp ed im p rove th e situ ation som ew h at, bu t m ajor p roblem s rem ain .
Th e rap id econ om ic d evelop m ent record ed since th e 1960s an d a sh ortage of skilled w orkers p rom p ted th e governm en t to set u p a trainin g levy system in 1976. Firm s w ere requ ired to p rovid e in-p lant trainin g or to p ay a levy . After som e initial su ccess, th e
p rop ortion of firm s op tin g for trainin g th eir w orkers, rath er th an p ayin g th e levy, fell stead ily from over tw o-third s of eligible firm s d u rin g 1977-80 to less th an on e-fifth d u rin g 1991-93. In 1995, a n ew trainin g system w as establish ed as on e com p on en t of th e Em p loym en t In su rance System (EIS).
Data on exp en d itu res an d nu m ber of p articip ants for th e year 2000 sh ow th at, am on g th e five p rogram s, in-p lant vocation al trainin g is th e m ost im p ortant on e (table 2). Th e p rogram s are fin anced by w ay of em p loyers contribu tion s to th e EIS. Th e EIS su p p orts 40 to 90 p er cen t of th e cost of th e train in g an d, ad d ition ally, in th e case of th e p aid leave sch em e, also on e-th ird to on e-h alf of th e w age for cou rses th at last over 30 d ays.
Table 2: Training prog rams f or the emp loyed: participation and expenditures, 2000
Total In-plant vocational
training Paid training leave Number of firms
providing training 86,680 ( 100) 73,4 11 (84.68) 309 (0.36) Number of trained
workers 1,246,932 ( 100) 1,220,334 (97.87) 7,756 (0.62) Program expenditures
(Million Won) 180,750 (100) 140,475 (77.43) 5,589 (2.96) Subsidies for
course attendance
Loans for school fees
Loans for facility and equipment Number of firms
providing training N .A . 12,960 ( 14.95) 12 (0.0 1) Number of trained
workers 252 (0.02) 18,590 (1.49) N .A .
Program expenditures
(Million Won) 59 (0.3) 34,626 ( 18.35) 7,978 (4.23) Sou rce: Ministry of Labor 2001, Cu rrent statu s of vocation al
com p etency d evelopm ent p rogram, p . 44
6. Particip ation in V ET Program s
Th ere are little d ata on th e p articip ation of ad u lts in vocation al ed u cation an d trainin g in Korea . Th e m ost reliable d ata existin g in Korea are from "The Social Statistics Survey ", w h ich w as con d u cted by th e N ation al Statistics Su rvey in 1996.
In th e su rv ey, p articip ation in trainin g p rogram is categorized into w orkp lace learnin g an d job trainin g .4) Th e p articip ation rate of p eop le in w orkp lace learn in g w as 9.1 p er cent an d in job train in g w as 2.24 p er cen t (Table 3). Overall, m ore m en p articip ated in ed u cation an d trainin g. Peop le w h o are m ale, you n g, em p loyed , w ith a h igh ed u cation al level are m ore likely to p articip ate in w orkp lace ed u cation an d a lon ger p eriod of trainin g th an old , u n em p loyed , an d w ith a low edu cation al level. Peop le w h o are old an d p oorly ed u cated are m ore likely to p articip ate in job trainin g.
4) T h er e is no clear differ entiation bet w een w orkplace learnin g and job tr ainin g in the questionnair e. It is r eport ed that w orkplace learnin g inclu ded tr ainin g in corpor at e cultur e, tr aining by tar get gr oup, for eign lan guages , etc un dert aken at the w orkplace. Job tr ainin g in cluded initial tr ainin g , and j ob upgr ading tr aining undert aken at th e w orkplace as w ell as in oth er in stitution s.
Table 3: Participation in v ocational training
In-house training Vocational training
Rate Day Rate Day
Total 9.1 12.3 2.2 8.9
Age
15-19 10.8 1.9 1.4 0.3
20-24 13.5 1.5 2.0 0.5
25-29 15.3 2.2 1.6 0.3
30-34 13.4 1.7 1.7 0.2
35-39 11.4 1.5 2.1 0.2
40-44 8.2 0.8 2.5 0.2
45-49 7.4 0.9 3.3 0.2
50-54 5.6 0.6 2.9 0.2
55-59 4.0 0.4 3.3 0.1
60-64 2.4 0.2 3.5 0.1
65+ 0.4 - 1.3 -
College graduates 27.5 14.4 2.0 12.7
High school graduates 9.1 10.2 2.2 11.9
Middle school graduates 2.3 6.5 2.4 7.8
Primary school graduates 0.5 8.4 2.4 3.0
Gender
Men 13.2 12.6 3.7 7.4
Women 5.3 11.7 0.9 14.7
S our ce: National Statistical Office 1997, Report on the social st atistics surv ey .
7. Th e M ajor O rg aniz atio ns Inv o lv e d in V ET
Th e Ministry of Edu cation an d Hu m an Resou rce Develop m ent (MOE) is th e central governm ent organization resp on sible for th e form u lation an d im p lem entation of p olicies related to acad em ic activities, th e sciences an d p u blic ed u cation . MO E integrates an d coordin ates ed u cation al p olicies, p u blish es an d ap p roves textbooks, p rovid es ad m inistrativ e an d fin ancial su p p ort for all levels of
sch ools, su p ervises local ed u cation al agencies an d n ation al u niversities, op erates th e teach er trainin g system an d takes ch arge of th e fu nction of n on-form al ed u cation .
Within MO E, th e Lifelon g Vocation al Edu cation Bu reau is resp on sible for th e ad m inistration of technical an d v ocation al ed u cation at secon d ary an d p ost-secon d ary level sch ools an d colleges. Th e Vocation al an d Profession al Edu cation Policy Division w ith in th e Lifelon g Vocation al Ed u cation Bu reau is th e central governm ent lev el office d ealin g w ith u p p er-secon d ary an d tertiary tech nical-v ocation al edu cation . Th e Ju nior College Su p p ort Division is lookin g after th e ad m inistrative an d acad em ic related m atters for ju nior colleges.
N on-form al vocation al trainin g is ad m inistered by th e Ministry of Labor . H ead ed by th e Minister an d Vice Minister, th e Ministry h as tw o offices an d fou r bu reau s: Plannin g an d M an agem en t Office an d Em p loym ent Policy Office, an d Labor Policy Bu reau , Labor Stan d ard Bu reau , In du strial Safety & H ealth Bu reau an d Wom en Workers Bu reau . In ad dition, eight p rofession al officers are resp on sible for offices of p rofession al concern s .
Th e office in ch arge of vocation al trainin g in th e Ministry of Labor is th e Ability Develop m en t Officer u n d er w hich th ere are three division s : Trainin g Policy Division, Hu m an Resou rce Develop m ent an d Qu alification su p p ort Division .
Un d er th e Ministry of Labor, th e H RD Korea (form er Korea Manp ow er Agency) w as establish ed in 1982. Th e H RD Korea is a p u blic corp oration su bsidiary resp on sible for vocation al trainin g . Its m ain fu nction s are (i) vocation al trainin g, em p loym en t gu id ance, an d follow -u p service, (ii) d evelop m ent of vocation al trainin g m aterials, (iii) N ation al Qu alification Testin g an d Registration, (iv) skill encou ragem en t an d com p etition s, (v) em p loym ent p rom otion,
an d (vi) p rom otion of p riv ate vocation al trainin g.
Th e Korea Research In stitu te for Vocation al Edu cation an d Trainin g (KRIVET) is a n ation al governm en t VET bod y in Korea . KRIVET h as resp on sibilities for d evelop in g an d im p lem en tin g Korea' s n ation al VET research an d evalu ation effort, togeth er w ith th e collection an d rep ortin g of n ation al VET statistics. KRIVET also p rovid es career inform ation services throu gh its affiliated career inform ation center .
Ⅳ. Recent Ref orms in V ocational Education and Training
1. N ew V ocatio nal Educatio n Sy stem
Vocation al edu cation h as th e rep u tation of bein g a "secon d class"
ed u cation system ch osen only by th ose w h o h ave failed to get accep ted at a college. Th e ed u cation al content d oes n ot m eet th e n eed s of th e p ractical w orld , it h as lon g been a sou rce of com p laint for bu sin esses w ith som e goin g as far as to disregard th e variou s d ip lom as aw ard ed by vocation al sch ools. This cu rrent u n d erd evelop ed state of th e n ation' s vocation al ed u cation is d u e to th e lack of coop eration betw een th e sch ools an d bu sin esses, central an d au ton om ou s p rovincial governm ents an d am on g th e v ariou s governm ent agencies.
PCER p rop osed th e Secon d Ed u cation al Reform Program inclu din g th e vocation al edu cation reform in 1996. Th e m ain objective of this vocation al ed u cation reform is to establish a
"Lifelon g Vocation al Ed u cation System " to realize a "Lifelon g Op en Learnin g Society ." It w ill u ltim ately lead to th e d evelop m ent of
each in divid u al accord in g to h is or h er u niqu e talent an d interest as w ell as nu rtu rin g high -qu ality hu m an resou rces th at reflect th e n eed s of labor m arket .
Th e reform of vocation al ed u cation w ill be p rom oted in th e follow in g fou r d irection s:
(1) From a closed d oor to op en access - gradu ates of vocation al high sch ools w ill be given op p ortu nities to contin u e w ith th eir stu d ies throu gh p olytechnic u niv ersity, ju nior college, p olytechnic college, a n ew University an d even u p to grad u ate sch ool w hile th ey continu e to w ork . To achiev e th is, th e governm ent w ill increase th e bu d get for vocation al ed u cation .
(2) Th e edu cation system w ill be based on com p etition an d coop eration . Th e fou n d ation w ill be laid for th e realization of coop eration betw een sch ools an d in du stries. At th e sam e tim e, sch ools w ill be encou raged to com p ete w ith each oth er .
(3) Vocation al edu cation w ill be "u sefu l" for in d u stries. It w ill op en th e w ay for in du stries to p articip ate in th e evalu ation an d m an agem en t of v ocation al edu cation . Reorganization of th e system w ill allow th e active exch an ge of hu m an an d m aterial resou rces betw een sch ools an d com p anies.
(4) Th e system w ill m ove from an "in efficient "
ed u cation al system to an "efficien t " on e. Th e governm ent' s role h ere w ill be:
A)To revise th e qu alification system to link sch ools w ith bu sin esses, th ereby in tegratin g ed u cation an d trainin g.
B)To p rom ote effective u se of th e latest m u lti-m edia an d telecom m u nication s techn ology to p rovid e learn ers w ith low -cost bu t high -qu ality vocation al ed u cation
C)Increase th e au ton om y of each sch ool
D)Stren gth en th e role an d fin ances of th e local au ton om ou s entities.
With th e introdu ction of a lifelon g edu cation system , ju n ior college ed u cation w as exp an d ed . Betw een 1979 an d 1997, th e enrollm en t in ju nior colleges increased 11 tim es an d th e p rogram s saw an increase from 91 to 361. Based on th e Ed u cation al Reform Program , th e "customized training system ", resp on din g to in du strial d em an d s w as im p lem ented in m ore th an n in ety ju nior colleges' of w hich 59 colleges w ere p rovid ed fin an cial su p p ort from th e governm ent in 2000. In ord er to stren gth en th e ju n ior colleges' cap acity for v ocation al edu cation, p rogram s linkin g th e cu rricu lu m of th e secon d an d th ird years of vocation al senior secon d ary sch ools w ith th at of th e vocation al college (2+2) h ave been im p lem en ted in som e sch ools. Stu d ents w h o h ave com p leted vocation al senior secon d ary sch ool cou rses are giv en p riority in th e selection p rocess for entry into colleges in related field s of stu dy . From 1996, gradu ates of ju n ior colleges receive associate d egrees.
To encou rage w orkers to u p grad e th eir skills an d kn ow led ge, th e governm ent revised th e Polytechnic College Law in ord er to grant d egrees to gradu ates of p olytech nic colleges in 1997. Th e Korea Fou n d ation for Polytechnic Colleges w as in au gu rated by H RD Korea w ith th e ap p rov al of th e Ministry of Ed u cation du rin g early 1998. Beginnin g Febru ary 1998, gradu ates of p olytechnic colleges cou ld attain In d u strial Associate Degree.
2. V ocation al Com p etency D ev elop m ent Pro gram s
Th e Korean state h as attem p ted to correct m arket failu re in th e trainin g m arket by im p osin g a levy system , by im p lem entin g a n ation al technical qu alification system , an d p rovid in g p u blic vocation al trainin g. Com p u lsory trainin g an d test system s in Korea, h ow ev er, d id n ot encou rage firm s to u n d ertake train in g an d u p grad e trainin g p rogram s volu n tarily . Th e m ost visible evid ence of th is w as th e lack of u p grad e p rogram s in enterp rises . Trainin g p rogram s for blu e-collar w orkers thu s far w ere concentrated in th e basic skill trainin g of p re-em p loyed train ees or n ew entrants to th e w orkforce, an d th ey lacked establish ed ch ann els for existin g em p loyees to im p rove th eir technical kn ow led ge an d skills to en able th em to attain high er-level tech nical certificates.
Th e concentration of trainin g p rogram s in basic skills trainin g can be attribu ted to th e trainin g p olicy d esign ed to ch ann el u n em p loyed in dividu als into th e in du strial sector d u rin g th e econ om ic exp an sion of th e 1970s. Even th ou gh trainin g con tribu ted to th e early increase in com p any based trainin g, it d id n ot m eet th e trainin g d em an d s of p rivate firm s du rin g th e cu rrently ch an gin g environm ent in th e Korean econ om y . State regu lation s concernin g th e u se of trainin g fu n d s an d th e qu alification s of train ers, trainin g m aterials, an d equ ip m en t h ave n ot p rovid ed em p loyers w ith th e incentives an d assistance th ey n eed to invest in th e fu rth er edu cation an d trainin g of th eir w orkers or to p u rsu e high p rodu ctivity form s of w ork organization .
Th is com p u lsory in-p lant trainin g system , w hich w as d esign ed to concentrate on th e basic trainin g for n ew entrants to th e labor m arket at th e em bryon ic stage of in du strial d ev elop m ent,
contribu ted to th e p rovision of n ecessary m anp ow er th ereby su stainin g th e rap id econ om ic grow th of Korea . It w as p oin ted ou t, h ow ever, th at th e system sh ou ld h ave been ch an ged to accom m od ate th e n ew tren d s, esp ecially du rin g stru ctu ral adju stm ent an d in d u strial restru ctu rin g .
Enterin g th e 1990s, volu n tary trainin g by com p anies h as increased greatly . At th e sam e tim e th e nu m ber of you th s u n d ertakin g vocation al trainin g h as d ecreased m arkedly, du e to sh eer redu ction p er ratio in th e you n g p op u lation an d th e increasin g nu m ber of you th enterin g u n iversities. In d esignin g th e Em p loym en t In su ran ce System (EIS) of Korea, on e of th e h ottest issu es w as h ow to encou rage th e p rivate sector to p rovid e trainin g on a volu ntary basis an d to boost u p grad e trainin g an d retrainin g of in-service w orkers an d job tran sfer trainin g of th e u n em p loyed . Som e p eop le conten d th at in ord er to p rom ote volu n tary train in g in th e p rivate sector, th e com p u lsory trainin g system sh ou ld be abolish ed as soon as p ossible.
H ow ever, th e Korean governm ent d ecid ed th at it is p rem atu re to com p letely abolish th e cu rrent com p u lsory system w hich h as existed for alm ost tw o d ecad es an d for th e tim e bein g it is d esirable to ap p ly th e system to com p anies w ith 1,000 or m ore em p loyees w hich still n eed a large nu m ber of train ed w orkers. As a resu lt, enterp rises w ith less th an 1,000 em p loyees w ere exem p ted from th e com p u lsory v ocation al trainin g system from Ju ly, 1995, con sequ ently th ey fall into th e Em p loym ent In su rance System . Th e im p lem en tation of trainin g is u n d er th e discretion of th e em p loyer an d fin ancial su p p ort for trainin g is based on th e trainin g costs.
Th e vocation al com p eten cy d ev elop m ent sch em e u n d er EIS is n ot a com p u lsory bu t an incentiv e system to in d u ce volu ntary trainin g by p rovidin g fin ancial su p p ort to em p loyers an d
em p loyees from th e EIS fu n d . Th ere are tw o m ain categories of fin ancial su p p ort available in th e sch em e. On e is th e su p p ort to em p loyers w h o im p lem ent th e vocation al com p etency d evelop m ent p rogram s, n am ely, su p p ort for in-p lant trainin g, oth er edu cation an d trainin g, an d p aid leave for ed u cation an d trainin g . Th e oth er is su p p ort to em p loyees u n d er ed u cation an d trainin g, n am ely, trainin g incentives for th e eld erly an d tu ition loan s. Th e u n em p loyed can be p rovid ed w ith variou s trainin g activities th ey w ish to u n d ertake regardless of th eir eligibility for u n em p loym ent ben efits. It is n eedless to say th at re-em p loym ent in secu re jobs throu gh op p ortu nities to acqu ire ap p rop riate skills sh ou ld be p referred to th e p assive p rotection of u n em p loym ent ben efits.
Sh ou ld an em p loyer establish trainin g facilities an d / or p u rch ase equ ip m ent, h e or sh e can ap p ly for a loan or su bsid y from th e Em p loym en t In su rance Fu n d . With th e intention of p rom otin g trainin g w ithin sm all & m ed iu m sized firm s, th e p rogram w ill in du ce join t vocation al trainin g by grou p s an d su p p ort th eir fin ancin g in ord er to h arn ess th e initiatives an d in genu ity of th e p rivate sector to p rovid e trainin g p rogram s caterin g to th e d iverse an d ch an gin g n eed s of firm s. In p rovidin g th e above services, m ore em p h asis is p laced , by stip u lation in th e law , on sm all an d m ed iu m sized firm s.
In 2000 th e n u m bers of firm s an d p erson s w h o w ere en titled to th e vocation al com p etency d evelop m en t p rogram s w as 693,414 an d 6,747,263 resp ectively . Of th e 6,747,263 p erson s, abou t 39 p ercent w ere in th e m an u factu rin g in du stry, 0.01 p ercent w ere in th e agricu ltu ral sector, an d 61 p ercent w ere in th e service sector . This ratio in d icates th at th e focu s of vocation al trainin g w ill shift from th e m an u factu rin g in d u stry to th e service sector .
In th e sam e year, 1,246,932 p erson s w ere afford ed su p p ort from
EIS fu n d s: 1,220,334 p erson s (97.0 %) encom p assin g in-p lan t u p grad e trainin g, 7,756 (1.0 %) takin g p aid leave for ed u cation an d trainin g, 252 (0 %) fin ancin g takin g college cou rses an d 18,590 (1.0%) bein g given a tu ition loan s . Th e total am ou nt p rovid ed for fin ancial su p p ort for th e p rogram s w as abou t 181 billion w on .
3. En actm ent of th e Act o n Pro m otin g W ork ers' V ocatio nal Train ing
As discu ssed before, th e Basic Vocation al Trainin g Act inclu din g th e com p u lsory trainin g system , contribu ted to th e trainin g of skilled m anp ow er, bu t it d id n ot m eet th e ch an gin g d em an d s for in du strial m anp ow er . In ad dition, th e law con strain ed enterp rises from p rovidin g u p grad e train in g to th eir em p loyees.
Th e governm en t en acted th e Act on Prom otin g Workers' Vocation al Train in g in 1997 to establish a system for vocation al com p etency d evelop m ent an d to encou rage en terp rises to p rovid e fu rth er train in g for th e em p loyed on a v olu ntary basis. Th e act h as p u t in to effect since Janu ary 1999. With th e enforcem ent of th e act, th e Basic Vocation al Trainin g Act w as abolish ed .
Accordin g to th e act, th e Min ister of Labor p rovid es fin ancial su p p ort to em p loyers w h o im p lem ent v ocation al com p etency d evelop m ent p rogram s. Th e Minister also su p p orts em p loyees w h o m ake an effort to d evelop th eir vocation al com p etency, i.e., u n d ertakin g vocation al com p eten cy d ev elop m ent trainin g p rogram s, w antin g to acqu ire a certificate or u n d ertakin g p rogram s d esign ated in th e Edu cation Law . Governm en tal agencies or local au ton om ies m ay p rovid e trainin g for th e u n em p loyed .
Th e en actm en t of th e law p rovid es a m om entu m for an oth er take-off in v ocation al trainin g. Un d er th e act, restriction s on
in-p lant trainin g p ractices w ere rem oved , w hile encou ragin g volu ntary trainin g, d em an d -oriented trainin g, an d u p gradin g job com p etency for th e em p loyed . Th e governm en t h as p layed a su p p ortive role as an assistant in encou ragin g vocation al trainin g .
Th e n u m ber of w orkers tr ain ed h as increased sin ce im p lem entation of th e n ew tr ain in g p olicy u n d er th e EIS. In ad d ition , m ost in -p lant trainin g sch em es inclu d e "ad v anced " cou rses, in stead of basic trainin g as ten d ed to be th e case u n d er th e levy system (table 4).
Table 4. Proportion of peop le undertaking initial training and f urther training, 1990-99>
Un it : %
Total
Initial training
Subtotal
Upgrade T
Subtotal
Public P riv ate Public P riv ate
1990 44,852 (100.0) 45.4 29.8 75.2 0.7 24.1 24.8 199 1 78,552 (100.0) 32.6 32.1 64.7 0.4 34.9 35.3 1992 132,608 (100.0) 17.6 30.9 48.5 2.1 49.4 5 1.5 1993 127,3 14 (100.0) 18.6 29.0 47.6 2.0 50.4 52.4 1994 159,979 (100.0) 2.0 44.0 46.0 5.2 48.8 54.0 1995 175,767 (100.0) 11.5 2 1.5 33.0 5.8 6 1.2 67.0 1996 170,427 (100.0) 10.2 19.5 29.7 11.3 59.0 70.3 1997 199,98 1 (100.0) 7.8 14.2 22.0 16.6 6 1.4 78.0 1998 750,137 (100.0) 4.0 5.5 9.5 14.7 75.8 90.5 1999 9 13,7 18 (100.0) 4.0 1.0 5.0 9.0 86.0 95.0 S our ce: Ministry of Labor , T h e curr ent st atu s of v ocational tr ainin g pr ogr am s,
1991- 2000.
H ow ever, d esp ite th ese encou ragin g resu lts, it w ou ld ap p ear th at cu rrent train in g p rogram s for th e em p loyed su ffer from certain d eficien cies:
Only a sm all p rop ortion of th e firm s w hich p ay contribu tion s to th e fu n d actu ally p rovid e trainin g for th eir w orkers. To take th e exam p le of in-p lan t trainin g, w hich is th e m ost com m on , du rin g 2000 on ly 10.6 p er cen t of th e in su red firm s p rovid ed in-p lant trainin g (table 5). Du rin g th e sam e p eriod , only 18.1 p er cent of all in su red w orkers receiv ed in -p lant vocation al trainin g. Th e take-u p of th e oth er p rogram s of train in g for th e em p loyed is even low er .
Fu rth erm ore, large firm s are th e m ain ben eficiaries of th e trainin g p rogram s for th e em p loyed . As sh ow n in table 5, in 2000, th e p articip ation rate of firm s w ith less th an 150 w orkers in in-p lant vocation al trainin g w as n egligible, w hile it cam e close to 1640 p er cent in th e case of firm s w ith ov er 1000 w orkers. This high p articip ation rate is exp lain ed by th e fact th at firm s m ay claim su p p ort m ore th an on ce ov er a given p eriod of tim e. Only abou t 4 p er cent of th ose em p loyed in sm all firm s received in-p lan t trainin g, com p ared w ith 62.5 p er cent in th e case of large firm s.
Oth er p rogram s of trainin g for th e em p loyed are m ain ly u sed by large firm s.
Table 5. Benef iciaries of in-plant vocational training programs, by f irm size, 2000>
Unit : % Firm s iz e (n u m b er of w ork ers)
T otal Le ss th an 150 150 - 1000 1000+
Su b sid ized firm s 100 (73,411) 77.2 17.4 5.4 Firm s p ayin g
con tribu tion s 100 (693,414) 94 .0 0.8 0.1 Firm s' p articip ation r ate 10.6 8.7 233.3 1239.6 Su b sid ized w orker s 100 (1,220,334) 13.6 25.9 60.5 In su red w ork ers 100 (6,747,263) 61.2 19.9 17.5 W oker s' p articip ation
rate 18.1 4 .0 23.5 62.3
Am ou n t of su b sid ized 100 (180,749,711) 14 .0 32.1 53.8 N ote : Con stru ction is d ealt w ith sep ar ately giv en th at sp ecial con tribu tion ru les,
n ot b ased on firm size, ap p ly to firm s in th is sect or, bu t n ot sh ow n in th e t able . In th e section of firm s p ayin g con tribu tion s, con stru ction con tribu ted 5.1 p er cen t . An d in th e section of in su red w orkers, con stru ction accou n ted for 1. 4 p er cen t .
It w ou ld th erefore ap p ear th at trainin g u n d er th e EIS h as n ot su cceed ed in increasin g su bstantially trainin g p rovid ed by sm all enterp rises . As large firm s w ou ld , in any event, ten d to train w orkers in th e absen ce of sp ecific p olicies, it seem s highly likely th at th e trainin g su bsidies yield large ' w in d fall' gain s to large firm s. Alth ou gh th e p rovision of trainin g is likely to increase w ith econ om ic recovery, th e system ' s effectiv en ess su ffers from th e excessive nu m ber of p rogram s an d th e fact th at trainin g ten d s to be concen trated in large enterp rises. As in oth er OECD cou ntries, th ere is a risk th at w orkers in sm all firm s, once train ed , are hired by eith er an oth er sm all firm or a bigger on e. Th is risk m ay be high er in Korea, given th e u nu su ally large gap in term s of w ages an d w orkin g con dition s betw een large an d sm all firm s.
4 . A sch em e to p ro m ote train in g in Sm all an d M e diu m s iz e Enterp rises (SM E)
In ord er to su p p ly skilled labor to SM Es an d u p grad e th e skills level of em p loyees of SM Es, th e Ministry of Labor introdu ced a p ilot p rogram w hich is called "th e SMEs trainin g con sortiu m " in Ju n e 2001. Th e p rogram takes three form s d ep en d in g on sector an d region : SM E-em p loyer association typ e, SMEs-large en terp rise an d SMEs-p u blic trainin g in stitu tes.
Th e p rogram h as been im p lem ented in 6 m od el trainin g in stitu tes (im p lem en tin g agencies) since Ju n e 2001. As of Janu ary, 2002, 597 SMEs p articip ated in th e p rogram , w ith a total 33,335 p erson s . Most of p articip atin g firm s are in th e sectors of ship bu ildin g an d m ech anics, w hich su ffer from th e sh ortages of skilled labor .
Th e ch aracteristics of SM E trainin g con sortiu m inclu d e p rovidin g trainin g on th e basis of d em an d s of p articip atin g SMEs. Th e im p lem en tin g agency con du cts su rveys of em p loyers of SM Es on th e em p loym en t n eed s an d skills n eed s. Based on th e su rvey resu lts, th ey d evelop train in g p rogram s based on job an alysis. As a resu lt, th ey p rovid e diverse trainin g p rogram s, w ith flexible tim e sch edu les so th at th ose w h o w ish to take trainin g, d o so an ytim e an d on any p rogram . Th is d em an d-orien ted ap p roach encou raged SM Es to p articip ate in trainin g p rogram s .
Since th e op eration of th e p rogram , th e p articip ation of SME w orkers in trainin g h as increased . Com p ared to th e year 2000 w h en th e p rogram w as n ot op eratin g, th e nu m ber of trainin g p rogram s increased from 32 to 178 an d th e nu m ber of w orkers p articip atin g in train in g increased from 921 to 5,393, du rin g th e p eriod betw een Ju ly 2001 an d Janu ary 2002.
Th e governm ent p lan s to exp an d th e p ilot p rogram to inclu d e oth er sectors an d region s u p on evalu atin g th e im p lem entation of th e p rogram after on e-year of op eration .
V . Issu es an d Con cern s in V ET 1. Relev ance of V ET
Accordin g to Robert Reich , th e th ree jobs of th e fu tu re inclu d e rou tin e p rodu ction services (p erform in g rep etitive tasks); in-p erson services (p rovid in g p erson-to p erson services); an d sym bolic an alytical services (p roblem -solvin g, p roblem -id entifyin g an d strategic brokerin g activities). In Korea, th e overarchin g n eed is to d evelop critical-thinkin g skills, com m u nication skills, com p u ter skills, qu antitative reasonin g an d social interaction am on g stu d ents so th at th ey can becom e su ccessfu l kn ow led ge w orkers for th e fu tu re. Th ese n ew skills are very different from th ose tradition ally tau ght at sch ools. Alth ou gh th e qu ality of Korean edu cation at th e p rim ary an d secon d ary levels h as been p raised arou n d th e w orld , h ow w ell can Korean sch ools p erform an d h ow good w ill be th e qu ality of Korean edu cation w h en m easu red again st th ese n ew skills requ irem en ts? Until n ow , th e m ain p u rp ose of secon d ary ed u cation in Korea h as been to p rep are stu d ents to en ter p restigiou s colleges an d u n iversities. Even th ou gh a n u m ber of reform s h ave been in stigated in this area, th e college entrance exam in ation system still ten d s to giv e p riority to stu d ents w h o d o better in all field s on average, rath er th an to th ose w h o p ossess creativity an d p roblem -solvin g cap abilities. Th e gap betw een w h at cu rrently exists an d w h at is requ ired for th e fu tu re n eed s to be
brid ged for Korea' s su ccessfu l tran sition to a kn ow led ge-based econ om y . Th ere are d istortion s in th e labor m arket in Korea w ith resp ect to w age p rem iu m s for d ifferen t typ es of edu cation / d egrees, p artly fu eled by th e trad ition al sen se of edu cation al elitism . In its tran sform ation to an advanced, kn ow led ge-based econ om y, Korea m u st an alyze its edu cation system n ot only from th e su p p ly sid e, bu t also from th e d em an d sid e as w ell.
2. Th e "M ism atch " b etw een dem an d an d su pp ly
Th ere is an im balance betw een th e d em an d an d su p p ly of a skilled w orkforce in both acad em ic an d in d u strial areas. H igh er ed u cation began to focu s on hu m anity stu d ies, w hich increased from 8.4 % in 1981 to 29% in 1997. On th e oth er h an d, scien ce an d en gin eerin g stu dies d rop p ed from 61.5 % to 38.1% in th e case of vocation al ju nior colleges. In th e case of colleges, hu m anity stu d ies increased from 28.7% in 1981 to 40.6% in 1997 w hich exceed ed th e ratio of science an d en gin eerin g stu d ies. In th e case of qu ota an d acad em ic su bject control of colleges (inclu d in g ju nior v ocation al colleges) th e governm ent p olicy ration ality an d m arket failu re occu rred concu rrently, d esp ite th e ed u cation al level of stu d ents, in evitably u n d erem p loym ent h as taken p lace. In sp ite of stru ctu ral u n em p loym ent, a labor sh ortage d eep en s in som e in du strial sectors.
3. Lab or m ark et inform atio n sy stem
Labor m arket d ata are n ot com p reh en sive en ou gh to id entify skills d em an d . An oth er w eakn ess is th at th ere is a lim itation of linkages in labor m arket inform ation . For exam p le, d ata on em p loym ent in su rance, occu p ation an d qu alification are n ot
integrated . Fu rth erm ore labor m arket d ata are n ot w ell u tilized in p lan nin g ed u cation an d v ocation al ed u cation .
Th e edu cation m arket an d th e labor m arket are sep arated . Even w ith in th e edu cation m arket, edu cation m arket inform ation (EM I) is n ot accu m u lated . In Korea, th e MO E d oes n ot h ave th e cap acity to m ake p olicy d ecision in d ep en d ently . In gen eral, ed u cation p olicy is form u lated becau se of sp ecial extern al sh ock, rath er th an by in p u t based on accu m u lated inform ation .
4 . Link ag e b etw een Sch o o l an d In du stry
Th e origin al fu nction of VET is to p rovid e p eop le w ith op p ortu nities to learn th e skills an d kn ow led ge requ ired in th e labor m arket, skills an d kn ow led ge often n ot p rovid ed by th e gen eral ed u cation system . For this reason, th e n atu re of lin kages betw een VET in stitu tion s an d in d u stries is critical in d eterm inin g th e ou tcom e of vocation al ed u cation an d trainin g . Th e n atu re of th e linkages is affected by v ariou s in stitu tion al factors (historical backgrou n d an d fu n din g sou rces). Cu rren tly, lin kages betw een sch ool an d in du stry are very loose in Korea.
Few form al linkages betw een sch ool an d in d u stry an d enterp rises are fou n d . At th e n ation al level, n o board (or cou ncil) exists for ov erseein g th e d evelop m en t, im p lem entation an d evalu ation of n ation al trainin g p olicy . At th e p rovincial lev el, th ere are n o in du stry ad visory com m ittees to discu ss trainin g n eed s in th e p rovinces. At th e VTE sch ool level, n o em p loyer advisory com m ittees exist . Som e sch ools h ave inform al m eetin gs w ith em p loyers to exch an ge id eas an d inform ation on trainin g . Th ere is n o form al cou rse advisory com m ittee to ad vise sch ool on h ow to d evelop an d im p lem en t cu rricu lu m .
Also, th e governm en t sh ou ld encou rage in d u stry to su p p ort p artn ership in active w ays. Th e initiatives of in du stries an d
enterp rises can stren gth en th e lin kage an d sh ou ld be encou raged . 5. Rigi dity of V ET sy stem
Th ere is lim ited continu in g edu cation an d retrain in g op p ortu nities for adu lts. On th e oth er h an d, th e criteria for selection an d th e cu rricu la of p olytechnic colleges an d v ocation al ju n ior colleges are m ainly focu sed on regu lar stu d ents an d it restricts op p ortu nities for in d u strial w orkers to atten d colleges an d u niversities.
Esp ecially, d u e to th e low rate of adu lt w orkers' p articip ation in ed u cation, w h ich is com p ou n d ed by th e age-restriction to enter high er edu cation in stitu tion s, th e p articip ation rate of adu lts in regu lar high er edu cation al in stitu tion s is low . It is only 20.1%
am on g college stu d en ts aged over 25, w hich is significantly low er th an th e USA' s 45.9%.
6. Lif elo ng learning
In advanced cou ntries, a p roliferation of in stitu tion s an d m ech an ism s focu s on lifelon g learnin g at w ork an d at h om e. N ew form s of learn in g are becom in g available, su ch as th e Intern et, increased u se of TV, d istan ce learn in g, virtu al u niv ersities, an d oth ers . Th ese tren d s can only inten sify in th e kn ow led ge based econ om y .
Th e lifelon g edu cation system is n ot w ell d evelop ed in Korea . Inform ation an d Com m u nication techn ologies (ICTs) are n ot fu lly exp loited in areas su ch as d istance learnin g an d virtu al u niversities, an d Korea lags its O ECD p eers in th e p rovision of
learnin g op p ortu n ities for adu lts. While th e trainin g op p ortu nities p rovid ed by th e p rivate sector are lim ited in com p arison to oth er adv an ced cou ntries, th ose th at are available cou ld lead to a risk of social p olarization , as th ose w h o are better qu alified m ay h ave th e m ost op p ortu nities for fu rth er trainin g. H ow ev er, th ere w ill be n o incentive an d m otivation for lifelon g learnin g if th e im p roved or n ew ly learn ed skills are n ot ap p reciated in th e w orkp lace. Su ch recognition an d rew ard are im p ortant becau se in Korean cu ltu re, rew ard s are often based on seniority rath er th an on increased p rod u ctivity d erived from im p rovem ents in w orkers' skills.
Since ed u cation al n eed s an d m otivation s ch an ge over a lifetim e, th e kn ow led ge based econ om y n eed s to cater to th e grow in g d iversity of learnin g n eed s, both form al an d inform al. This is im p ortant for d evelop in g an in form ed citizen ship , stren gth enin g th e fou n d ation s of d em ocracy an d d evelop in g a con sen su s for th e kn ow led ge based econ om y . Thu s, th e issu e of access to kn ow led ge an d inform ation for all, an d esp ecially for th e p oor, n eed s to be stressed .
Th e Korean Governm ent h as recognized th e im p ortance of this issu e an d h as begu n to exp an d a high-sp eed Intern et n etw ork, offer free p u blic access to com p u ters, p rovid e trainin g in inform ation d elivery an d p rom ote En glish p roficiency . With regard to th e digital divid e existin g am on g th e children of p oor fam ilies, th e governm ent h as set u p a sp ecial p rogram to teach Intern et an d basic PC skills to n early h alf a m illion stu d ents from p oor fam ilies.
It w ill also give free PCs an d five years of free Intern et access to som e 50,000 ch ildren from low er in com e fam ilies .
Th ese m easu res are im p ortant, bu t n ot su fficient . For exam p le, teachin g child ren h ow to u se th e Intern et is only th e first step . Th e Korean Governm ent sh ou ld ad op t som e of th e m ore efficient
solu tion s th at h ave been ad op ted by m any cou ntries, both d evelop ed an d d evelop in g on es.
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