Polytech to Increase Job Training for Middle-Aged and Older by 6 Times... Kim Moon-su "Accelerate Institutionalization of Continuous Employment"

Korea Polytechnic University has decided to increase the scale of vocational training support for middle-aged and older adults sixfold by 2026 to prepare for a super-aged society. Employment and Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo announced that, as the retirement of the second baby boomer generation is in full swing, efforts to institutionalize continuous employment will accelerate.

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The Ministry of Employment and Labor and Polytechnic University announced on the 3rd that the scale of the Polytechnic University's specialized training program for the new middle-aged will expand from 2,500 people this year to about 15,000 by 2026. This is because over 9.5 million second baby boomers (born 1964?1974) are reaching retirement age (60) starting this year, and with the country approaching a super-aged society next year, the importance of reemployment and career transition for middle-aged and older adults is increasing.

The specialized training program for the new middle-aged is operated in fields such as electricity, welding, and equipment across 35 campuses nationwide. The employment rate reaches 60%. Starting next year, Polytechnic University plans to reflect digital transformation in traditional industrial fields with high employment outcomes for middle-aged and older adults, such as electricity and industrial equipment, by increasing infrastructure based on information and communication technology (ICT) convergence. Additionally, a hybrid vocational training model linking online and in-person training will be piloted next year and then expanded.

On the same day, Minister Kim Moon-soo visited the Polytechnic Seoul Jeongsu Campus to observe the specialized training courses for the new middle-aged in areas such as automation (PLC & CAD) and future-oriented automobiles. At the site, he encouraged trainees and university officials and listened to their voices while having lunch together in the campus cafeteria.

Minister Kim said, "We will strengthen customized vocational training centered on Polytechnic University so that the elderly, who have emerged as core labor forces, can smoothly move to desirable jobs and work for a long time regardless of age." He added, "We will also accelerate social dialogue and institutionalization related to continuous employment so that the skills and experience accumulated by the second baby boomers throughout their lives can lead to the country's growth potential."

Meanwhile, Polytechnic University is recruiting trainees for the specialized training program for the new middle-aged in the first half of next year. Training costs are free, and anyone aged 40 or older who meets the requirements for issuing the National Tomorrow Learning Card can apply.

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