Suwon's Second Life Support Center Lays Solid Foundation After Six Months of Operation

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Six months after opening, Suwon's Second Life Support Center (3rd Floor, Shin-a Building, 145 Jungbu-daero, Paldal-gu) has established a solid foundation and is fulfilling its role effectively.

The Second Life Support Center, which provides customized job opportunities and reemployment support for the middle-aged population (ages 50-64), opened its doors on October 23 of last year.

It was established to provide integrated support for approximately 260,000 middle-aged residents, representing about 20% of Suwon's population.

The center currently provides diverse educational services including building a job-seeking talent pool of middle-aged workers, job discovery, life redesign education, career skill development, and aptitude exploration.

In addition, it supports health and happiness keeper projects including health management and psychological counseling consultation, as well as leisure and community activities such as hobbies and club activities. It also provides personal financial consulting for those in need.

For the middle-aged population, who have fewer educational and reemployment opportunities compared to younger people, the center serves as a welcomed resource. As a result, more people are taking notice of and participating in the programs operated by the center.

The center's social contribution activity support project, which provides opportunities for social reengagement by utilizing the expertise and experience of middle-aged workers in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, saw participation from 546 individuals across 87 institutions last year. As of the 20th of this year, 319 individuals from 60 institutions have applied, with expectations for further increases.

The center operates various educational programs including life planning education, career development education for capacity building, and leisure and hobby education four times a year. However, due to COVID-19, the first training session that should have started this year has been postponed to April 6.

Nevertheless, the response from middle-aged participants has been enthusiastic. With a total of 17 programs (15 regular courses and 2 single-day courses), offerings have increased approximately threefold compared to last winter's programs. The number of participants has also increased to 208 as of the 20th, doubling from last winter, indicating growing interest.

Even with planned programs being delayed, the Second Life Support Center continues its efforts. It is working to establish collaborative systems with related organizations within Suwon.

The center recently concluded cooperative agreements with Yeongdeung Women's New Jobs Center on the 12th and with Korea Labor Institute's Gyeonggi Mid-Career Job Hope Center on the 17th.

Through agreements with both organizations, the center agreed to cooperate on planning, implementation, and evaluation of volunteer activities in the social service sector, to exchange various activities related to social contribution projects, and to collaborate on promoting and linking the businesses of both organizations.

Beyond existing collaborations with the National Pension Service (financial consulting), Suwon City Happiness Mental Health and Welfare Center (mental health counseling), and Suwon City Job Center (job counseling), the center's capabilities are expected to be further strengthened.