Gyeonggi Province to Create 20,000 Women's Jobs This Year

Gyeonggi Province will invest 5.6 billion won in national and provincial funds to strengthen employment support for career-interrupted women and female university students, aiming to create approximately 20,000 women's jobs this year.

To support the employment of women whose careers have been interrupted for extended periods due to childbirth and childcare, and to increase economic participation among women seeking employment, the province plans to provide systematic support through 18 Women's Re-employment Centers, 7 Women's Workforce Development Centers, and 5 Workers' Welfare Centers within the province. Support will be offered through group counseling, vocational training programs, and internship opportunities.

The Women's Re-employment Centers will create approximately 17,000 jobs through specialized re-employment education for career-interrupted women, Workforce Development Centers and Workers' Welfare Centers will create approximately 3,000 jobs through vocational training, and customized training for female university students and women with disabilities will be pursued concurrently.

Additionally, to expand women's workforce institutions, the province plans to establish 3 new Women's Re-employment Centers this year (2 in Suwon, 1 in Pocheon), with plans for additional designations in the latter half of the year.

In particular, the province will actively support career guidance and vocational choices for female university students this year. To address barriers arising from male-dominated employment environments and women's unique life-cycle characteristics, and to develop capabilities and leadership necessary for women's successful workplace careers, Ajou University has been designated as a "Female University Student Career Development Center" to provide intensive support for the career development and job creation of young women over the next five years.

Furthermore, the province plans to raise Gyeonggi Province women's economic participation rate from 47.4% (as of end of 2012) to the OECD country level (61.9%, based on 2011), and will systematically pursue women and family policies by investing budgets not only for the welfare of female workers, but also for the lives and jobs of vulnerable groups including women with disabilities, immigrant women, and defectors from North Korea.

Meanwhile, Lee Eul-juk, Director of the Women and Family Department of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "We believe that the utilization of diverse women's workforce with varying capabilities will play a central role in overcoming the current economic crisis, and Gyeonggi Province women will be at the forefront of finding new breakthroughs for the Korean economy in 2013. We will continue to pursue women's policies focused on workforce development and job creation for career-interrupted women, female workers, and female university students," he said.