Supporting Your Life's Second Act... Opening of Nowon Senior Job Support Center Relocation

Published 26 Mar.2022 21:11(KST)

In February this year, Junggyeon On Village Center relocated and reorganized the job support project for middle-aged and elderly... Established a comprehensive job counseling window for those uncertain about job searching... Strengthening seniors' job skills through practical employment training such as 'Reemployment Preparation Education' and 'Job-Specific Practical Training'

Training scene at Nowon Senior Job Support Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) has relocated and reopened the ‘Nowon Senior Job Support Center,’ making every effort to develop jobs and provide employment training for seniors and the middle-aged in the area.

The Senior Job Support Center, operated by the district since 2019 to support job seekers aged 50 and above, moved in February this year to the Junggye On Village Center (3rd floor of Building 3), completing its reorganization for business operations.

The center offers comprehensive services for middle-aged and senior job seekers who wish to re-enter the workforce, including ▲job seeker counseling ▲employment training education ▲development of employers ▲and cooperative linkage projects.

In particular, for the middle-aged generation, the center focuses on developing new job categories and discovering re-employment opportunities that allow them to demonstrate their capabilities, considering the characteristics of their generation.

The center serves as a comprehensive job counseling window for those who feel uncertain about job hunting. Last year, through 3,441 consultations, it provided comprehensive job-related information to help individuals clarify their job search direction, such as what they want to do and what they want to achieve. Additionally, the center’s website continuously updates the ‘Nowon-gu Middle-aged & Senior Interest Information’ section in real time, serving as a hub for job information.

The employment training programs designed to enhance seniors’ job skills and increase their competitiveness are offered completely free of charge, reducing the burden on seniors.

Despite limitations on the number of trainees due to COVID-19 last year, 633 people completed the training, and 169 of them succeeded in re-employment after the training. Not only were the employment outcomes positive, but trainee satisfaction was also high at 96%, with 90% reporting improved employment capabilities.

Specifically, the employment training is divided into ‘Re-employment Preparation Education’ and ‘Job-specific Practical Training.’

The regularly held monthly Re-employment Preparation Education is the most requested training by job seekers. Particularly popular is the course ‘Smart Job Hunting with a Smartphone,’ which covers topics such as searching for job information and smart resume writing using smartphones, so much so that it has been benchmarked by other centers. The ‘Pinpoint Education,’ which organizes valuable information on public jobs offered by various institutions, and the ‘Email Support Education’ for non-face-to-face application support, are also highly regarded and well-received job support preparation courses.

The Job-specific Practical Training is a customized curriculum developed through job analysis, reflecting the job suitability and regional characteristics of the middle-aged and seniors. Representative courses include new training for general security guards and competency enhancement training for care workers, which are fields with active senior job placement and recruitment.

Additionally, the center supports employment in various professional fields without age restrictions, such as life support workers, kiosk instructors, life quarantine experts, middle-aged digital coaches, and advance medical directive counselors.

Among these, the life support worker training course, which started as a nationwide project in 2020 for personnel performing senior-tailored care services, was the first in the country to plan the curriculum, with 22 out of 28 trainees successfully employed.

The center announces monthly employment training programs through apartment complex bulletin boards in the district, the district office website, and the Nowon Senior Job Support Center website.

Anyone aged 50 or older residing in Nowon-gu can apply for training. After registering as a job seeker on the Seoul Job Portal, applicants can visit the center to apply. For detailed information such as schedules for each course, inquiries can be made by phone.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “In an aging society, building a healthy and vibrant life through new jobs is the most important issue for seniors,” adding, “We will actively support the development of substantial programs so that seniors can actively participate in various fields.”