COVID-19 Causes Consecutive Delays in Hiring at SME Institutions

Schedule Delayed Due to COVID-19 Impact

Exterior view of Korea Industrial Complex Corporation Daegu Headquarters

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The recruitment schedules for employees in the second half of the year at organizations related to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners are being postponed one after another due to the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to related organizations on the 10th, the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation postponed the written exam date for recruiting new and experienced employees and high school graduate internship positions for the second half of this year to the 20th. Although the application submission, document screening, and announcement of successful candidates had been completed through the recruitment announcement last month, the remaining schedules such as the written exam and interview were postponed through a re-announcement on the 9th.

The written exam was originally scheduled for the 6th but was changed considering the resurgence of COVID-19. The probationary work and department assignment for the final successful candidates, originally planned for next month, were also postponed to November. The Industrial Complex Corporation will hire seven level 4 employees for new and experienced positions in the second half of the year. They will work in the finance and big data fields. For high school graduate internship positions, three people will be hired in the tax accounting field.

The Small Enterprise and Market Service has not announced recruitment for new employees in the second half of the year. This is because the recruitment schedule for new employees has not been finalized due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation. Last year, applications for new employees in the second half were accepted from late August to early September, but this year it is undecided. Last year, 30 general level 5 employees were recruited in the administrative office field, performing tasks such as supporting small business development and revitalizing traditional markets.

In the first half of this year, the Small Enterprise and Market Service set a schedule from May to June and recruited new and experienced employees in administrative office, credit review, and debt management fields. Through document screening, written exams, and interviews, a total of 51 regular and indefinite contract employees were hired.

The Korea Federation of SMEs is also delaying next year’s recruitment schedule due to the impact of COVID-19. The open recruitment for new employees at the Federation usually proceeded with document submissions in the previous year. For example, for the 2019 new employee recruitment, document screening, written exams, and interviews were conducted from October 2018 until the end of that year.

For the 2020 new employee recruitment, document submissions started in February, and after completing the recruitment process, the internship began in June. Department assignments for regular employee conversion were made last month. The Federation holds an open recruitment for new employees once a year. The recruitment method is a 'regular employee linked internship,' where after a two-month internship, outstanding interns are converted to regular employees.

A representative from the Federation said, "The recruitment schedule for new employees next year will be promoted while monitoring the situation such as the impact of COVID-19, and it has not been finalized yet."

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