Collaboration between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Science and ICT... Transferring Science and Technology Retirees' Know-how to SMEs

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 17th that, in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and ICT, it will promote the ‘On-site Coaching Utilizing Retired Science and Technology Personnel’ support project to stimulate research and development activities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and assist in resolving technical difficulties.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups supports securing technological competitiveness of SMEs by transferring the research and development expertise and technical know-how possessed by retired professionals in the science and technology field to the R&D specialists of individual SMEs in a customized manner, in connection with the ‘1:1 On-site Coaching Skilled Workforce Training’ project.

The 1:1 On-site Coaching Skilled Workforce Training project involves experts such as master technicians visiting company sites directly to coach new personnel, fostering and supplying skilled workers early. Through this project, newly established last year, 260 job seekers supported 134 SMEs. This year, the project will expand to the finance and accounting fields by utilizing retired professionals from the financial sector, with 350 new personnel expected to participate.

Previously, an automotive precision parts company located in Gyeongsangnam-do that participated in this project last year expressed satisfaction, stating, “Fineblanking mold technology is specialized, requiring separate education and mentoring on mold structure and press understanding before new employees can be assigned to work. Thanks to about 50 hours of professional on-site coaching by a master technician, new employees were able to acquire basic skills and be immediately assigned to mold assembly and parts processing tasks.”

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to actively support the settlement of SME research personnel on-site by providing close, customized support from R&D planning to commercialization and technical problem-solving through retired science and technology professionals with abundant R&D and technical support experience from large corporations and others.

To this end, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to discover and recommend professionals wishing to participate in the project from the ‘High-experience Science and Technology Personnel Pool.’ The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will select experts through basic education and job competency verification procedures and utilize them as on-site coaching support personnel in the science and technology fields of SMEs. Participating companies can receive up to 12 consultations related to R&D and technical difficulties.

Currently, 31 science and technology experts have applied to participate in the on-site coaching project. They will undergo non-face-to-face online education on consulting (coaching) methodologies and understanding SME management from the 28th of this month to the 16th of next month, and after verifying their job performance capabilities, they will be deployed to the on-site coaching project.

SMEs wishing to participate in the ‘On-site Coaching Utilizing Retired Science and Technology Personnel’ project can apply at any time through the ‘1:1 On-site Coaching Skilled Workforce Training Project Banner’ on the website of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency’s Corporate Workforce Difficulty Center.

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