'Direct Hit from COVID-19' Helping Small Business Owners Recover... Support for Career Change and Skill Enhancement

Nosa Development Foundation Signs MOU with Small Enterprise Market Promotion Corporation, Polytech, and Industry on the 10th
Foundation "Cooperation to Support Job Transition for Workers in Special Employment Support Sectors such as Aviation and Tourism"

A flower market in Euljiro, Seoul, on January 21st. It is quiet with no customers visiting. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Korea Labor Foundation, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, Korea Polytechnic University, and the industry have joined forces to help small business owners who suffered significant business setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic to recover. They agreed to cooperate to provide customized support from career transition to employment competency development.

On the 10th at 2:30 PM, the Foundation announced that it signed an 'Industry-Academia-Government Memorandum of Understanding for Employment Support for Restarting Small Business Owners' with the Small Enterprise and Market Service, Polytechnic, and industry at the student union building of the Polytechnic Seoul Jeongsu Campus. The agreement proposed cooperation measures among institutions necessary for support such as life career planning, technical training education, payment of career transition incentives, and job provision to assist small business owners who closed due to COVID-19.

The core programs are the 'Small Business Owner Specialized Career Transition Support Service' and the 'Re-Start Package Program.' The career transition support service is conducted based on life career planning by the Foundation's Middle-aged and Senior Job Hope Center. Participants can choose their own courses, and after completing the training, they can receive career transition incentives from the Small Enterprise and Market Service as well as get employed at companies participating in the agreement.

The Re-Start program is practice-oriented, based on self-exploration career setting and employment competency enhancement strategy establishment provided by the Foundation, including resume writing, mock interviews, and job experience. The Foundation operates the Re-Start program this year at four Middle-aged and Senior Job Hope Centers in Seoul, Seoul West, Gyeonggi, and Daegu regions. It plans to expand to 12 centers nationwide in the future.

Additionally, the 'Hope Return Package Company-Linked Specialized Course' supported by the Small Enterprise and Market Service and Polytechnic is designed as a technical training course required by participating companies. Participants can directly get employed at the respective companies after completing the course. This year, the support target is middle-aged men, and next year it will be expanded to women and the elderly. To this end, gender- and age-specific customized training models will be developed.

Jung Hyung-woo, Secretary General of the Foundation, said, "The career transition support service for small business owners is expected to greatly help small business owners in economic difficulties to restart their businesses," adding, "We will actively cooperate with related organizations to support workers in employment crisis industries such as aviation and tourism to transition to new fields."

Earlier, the government announced on the 3rd that the expiration date for employment retention subsidy support for 15 special employment support industries, including aviation and tourism, will be extended by 90 days from the end of this month.

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