"Youth Employment Policies Ineffective, Focused on University Students and STEM Majors... 'Improvement Needed'"

Korea Employment Information Service Announces 2020 Nationwide Youth Employment Policy Status

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] An analysis has emerged suggesting the need to improve youth employment policy directions that are heavily focused on university students, university graduates, and STEM fields.

On the 15th, the Korea Employment Information Service announced the results of a review summarizing the status and characteristics of 2,930 nationwide youth policies implemented last year.

The key point is that the concentration on university students, university graduates, and science majors by education level and major should be addressed.

Policies targeting those in their teens to thirties accounted for 59.5% (1,600 policies), the largest share, but youth employment has not significantly improved.

Distribution of Educational Levels Among Youth Policy Support Recipients. (Data from Korea Employment Information Service)

In particular, among 501 policies specifying education level, 66.9% (335 policies) supported university students and graduates.

Policies supporting high school students and graduates accounted for only 11% (55 policies).

Among 104 policies specifying major requirements, 54.8% (57 policies) were implemented for STEM students.

Distribution of Major Fields and Employment Status of Youth Policy Support Recipients. The left side shows the major fields. (Data from Korea Employment Information Service)

The Employment Information Service diagnosed that due to such concentration by education level and major, although education and training provision accounted for the largest share of policy services at 21.7% (636 policies), it has not translated into youth employment. Cash support accounted for 17.3% (507 policies), and job placement services 12.3% (359 policies), following education and training provision.

Ko Jaesung, head of the Youth Policy Hub Center at the Employment Information Service, explained, "Analyzing last year's policy status, there is a need to improve the bias in policies according to education level and major."

He added, "Policy support for high school students is relatively very limited compared to policies targeting university students, and policies are excessively concentrated on STEM fields by major, so improvements seem necessary."

Individuals can check policies suited to them through customized searches by region and type on the Online Youth Center website operated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Employment Information Service. Free career and employment counseling is also available via KakaoTalk, bulletin boards, and phone.

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