"Young Job Seekers Activity Support Fund System Drastically Changes"…Mandatory Participation in Customized Employment Services Introduced

Ministry of Employment to Revise Program Based on Field Feedback
Mandatory Customized Employment Services...Diversification of Services
Monthly Mandatory Employment Video Viewing Rule to Be Abolished

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The 'Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund,' which provides up to 500,000 KRW per month for a maximum of six months to young job seekers, will be revamped starting this year.

Youths who are insufficiently prepared for job seeking will be required to participate in customized employment services, and if they do not participate, the support payments will be suspended.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 25th that it has prepared a plan to reform the program this year after collecting various opinions from youths, experts, and analyzing cases regarding the Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund.

There were demands from the field to improve the employment services provided to participants.

According to last year's participants, one-on-one customized counseling was often very helpful in preparing for employment, but large-scale lectures such as employment special lectures that did not consider participant characteristics and mandatory viewing of employment-related videos were pointed out as needing improvement.

Based on these evaluations, the Ministry of Employment and Labor decided to reform the program this year to more effectively support young people's job-seeking activities.

Customized Services, Mandatory Target Selection... Support Payments Suspended After 3 Noncompliances

First, the employment services that were previously provided uniformly will be offered in a customized manner reflecting young people's desired occupations and job preparation levels.

Small group study-type programs, one-on-one customized counseling programs, and psychological counseling will be provided. In addition to programs operated by employment centers, employment services from related local organizations will be linked to offer diverse employment services.

Previously, only youths who wished to participate engaged in employment services, but this year, youths with low job preparation levels will be required to participate in necessary employment services through counseling to actively support their job-seeking activities.

Mandatory participants will be selected based on the job-seeking activity plans submitted at the time of application and monthly job-seeking activity result reports, and selected youths will receive necessary employment services after counseling.

If the obligation is not fulfilled, even if the job-seeking activity result report is submitted, the report for that month will be judged as 'insufficient.'

Upon the first insufficient judgment, a 'warning' will be issued indicating that support payments may be suspended. At the second insufficient judgment, points for the following month will not be paid, and at the third, support payments will be completely suspended.

Mandatory Viewing of Employment Videos Abolished... Focus on Customized Employment Services

The mandatory viewing system for employment-related videos, which had to be watched monthly, will be abolished in consideration of evaluations that its effectiveness varied depending on individual circumstances, and the focus will be on providing customized employment services.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated that these support fund reforms are a preparatory process for smoothly integrating the program into the National Employment Support System in the second half of this year.

Linking customized services and mandating participation in employment services based on job preparation levels reflects the intent of the National Employment Support System to impose participation obligations through individual counseling when necessary.

Park Jong-pil, Director of Youth Employment Policy, said, "The fundamental policy goal of the Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund is not only to reduce the financial burden of job seeking but also to closely support individual job-seeking activities in a customized and meticulous manner," adding, "This year, we plan to actively link employment services in a way that enhances young people's employment capabilities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.