Opening of Gangdong Career Plus Center

Support for 'Placement Before Training' to Promote Field-Centered Employment for People with Developmental Disabilities... Encouraging Job and Workplace Adaptation by Working with Job Coaches

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) opened the 'Gangdong Career Plus Center,' a specialized employment agency for people with developmental disabilities, on the 4th floor of the Gangil 2 District Community Facility (95 Sangil-ro 12-gil) on the 1st of last month.

People with developmental disabilities in Gangdong-gu account for about 10% of all disabled individuals in the area, a relatively high proportion. However, there has been a lack of employment support service systems reflecting the characteristics of people with developmental disabilities, resulting in a low employment rate in private companies for this group.

Accordingly, Gangdong-gu established the Gangdong Career Plus Center to provide customized job creation and field-oriented employment training systems for people with developmental disabilities.

The Gangdong Career Plus Center helps people with developmental disabilities select jobs that match their aptitudes and interests when seeking employment. Unlike general employment linkage, it prioritizes placement in private companies and conducts a ‘placement first, training later’ program where job training is provided after placement.

In particular, Gangdong-gu appoints a Job Coach who works alongside employees at the company to guide tasks and help people with developmental disabilities adapt to the workplace.

Additionally, motivation activities and counseling services are provided to maintain employment after hiring, along with employment information to respond to unemployment and job changes.

Furthermore, Gangdong-gu plans to implement disability awareness improvement programs targeting families of disabled persons and businesses to enhance social awareness of people with developmental disabilities.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, stated, “Through the Gangdong Career Plus Center, I hope that people with developmental disabilities can engage in stable economic activities as members of the local community,” and added, “We will continuously strive to create a happy Gangdong where disabled and non-disabled people live together without distinction.”

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