Support for Employment Retention through Paid Training Leave for SMEs Expanded to Busan and Incheon

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government will expand a project that supports wages in cooperation with local governments when small and medium-sized enterprise owners facing management crises due to COVID-19 maintain employment through paid leave training to Busan and Incheon.

On the 8th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it signed a business agreement with Busan City and Jung-gu, Incheon City to expand the implementation of the 'Region-Specialized Long-Term Paid Leave Training' and will officially start the project from that day.

The region-specialized long-term paid leave training is a policy that supports small and medium-sized enterprise owners whose business conditions have worsened due to COVID-19 to maintain employment by conducting training for workers during paid leave. The Ministry of Employment and Labor supports training expenses and wages during the training period, and local governments support 50% of the social insurance premiums borne by the business owners.

The region-specialized long-term paid leave training was piloted in Gyeongsangnam-do, where the local economy has been struggling due to the shipbuilding industry recession, starting from October last year. As a result, 836 people participated last year and 6,173 people are participating this year, and this is being expanded to other local governments.

According to this agreement, companies in the shipbuilding and exhibition/international conference sectors in Busan and companies in the aircraft handling sector such as in-flight meal manufacturing in Incheon will participate in the project. The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to continue the project until the second half of next year and actively support additional demand companies.

Song Hongseok, Director of the Vocational Competency Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "The central and local governments will cooperate to continuously discover regional demands and establish this as an excellent model that provides strong support to companies in crisis."

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