Gyeonggi Province Addresses COVID-19 Job Crisis with Stepping Stone Job Program

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province is recruiting job seekers through May 22 to participate in the "2020 Second Phase New Gyeonggi Stepping Stone Job Program."

The "New Gyeonggi Stepping Stone Job Program" is a project launched by Gyeonggi Province since last year that allows participants to gain work experience in public and public-interest sectors, develop professional competency, and transition to private-sector employment.

The initiative focuses on creating public-sector jobs that, though modest in scale, can be linked to actual employment and supports transitions to private-sector jobs.

In this second phase, the province will select 71 people total: 9 to work at public institutions such as Gyeonggi-Pyeongtaek Port Authority, and 62 to work at social economy enterprises such as Green Bio Co., Ltd.

In particular, for social economy enterprises, positions have been developed with COVID-19 response in mind, focusing on disinfection and quarantine work to prevent disease transmission, as well as care and nursing and education service roles where job seekers have been in short supply relative to the post-COVID-19 period.

Applicants must be Gyeonggi Province residents with household income at or below 100 percent of the median income standard or members of employment-vulnerable groups (long-term unemployed for six months or more, persons with disabilities, etc.). Special employment workers and freelancers who have been laid off, closed their businesses, or experienced sharp income decline due to COVID-19 are also eligible to participate.

Participants will be deployed to worksites starting in June and will work at the respective companies for up to 10 months, accumulating job competency and career experience. During the participation period, participants can take customized job training and job-specific educational curricula.

Compensation is set at 10,364 won per hour, equivalent to the 2020 Gyeonggi Province living wage. Support is also provided for certification exam fees and job competency enhancement education, with up to 400,000 won per individual.

Additionally, using "stepping stone managers" qualified as employment counselors, the province helps ensure successful employment through career counseling, job coaching, and timely job information provision.

Kim Kyoo-sik, Gyeonggi Province Director of Economic Planning, stated, "Participating companies receive job placements without personnel cost burden, and we hope participants will successfully secure employment by building professional competency through work experience in public and public-interest sectors. Gyeonggi Province will serve as a 'stepping stone' to guide residents seeking employment toward good jobs amid the COVID-19-driven employment crisis."

Residents wishing to participate can apply through the Gyeonggi Province Jobs Foundation recruitment website (gjfin.saramin.co.kr) from May 13 through May 22. For more details, inquiries can be made to the Gyeonggi Province Jobs Foundation at 031-270-9700.