President Uh Soo-bong of Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea). (Photos: HRD Korea)

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) and Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea) held an inaugural session of the Automobile Industrial Skills Council (Automobile ISC) on July 26.

Of late, the Korean automobile industry badly needs the development manpower with core production technologies for future cars.

This comes as automobiles such as EVs and hydrogen fuel cell cars are on the rise on the back of a shift to a low-carbon economy, and the development of related technologies.

On the other hand, employees with the conventional automotive parts and maintenance industries are facing with an unemployment crisis.

The automobile industry is in dire need of new human resources related to future cars and the reassignment of employees, but it has no idea about the demand and current status of manpower according to each job classification.

Against this backdrop, MOEL and HRD inaugurated the Automobile ISC to study demand for manpower in the automobile industry and support manpower development tailored to meet on-site demands, based on the standardization of the occupational capabilities of the future car industry.

The automobile ISC plans to work out guidelines on the on-site training by analyzing on-site demand on the development of future car manpower and demand on the reassignment of employees with internal combustion car production.

It also plans to establish regimes t support education on the reassigned and shifted employees and keep the employment of the automotive parts and maintenance sectors.

The Automobile ISC will launch projects with Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH). Automobile organizations such as KAMA and Korea Auto Industries Coop. Association will join forces.

MOEL Vice Minister Park Hwa-jin said, “The Automobile ISC, serving as a pivot to usher in a future car era, is expected to play major roles in solving problems related to the urgent power supply of the automobile industry and supporting the development of future car manpower and the retention and reassignment of the internal combustion engine car employees.”

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) and Human Resources Development Service of Korea inaugurated Automobile Industrial Skills Council (Automobile ISC) on July 26.

Human Resources Development Service of Korea struck an MOU on the connectivity of the National Competency Standards (NCS) and Korean Standards with Korean Standards Association (KSA) at KRD Korea’s Nambu Branch in Seoul in June.

Under the deal, the two sides plan to consider ways of connecting the knowledge, technologies and attitudes of KS and NCS and put them into practice. 

 They also agreed to cooperate in the establishment of human resources development regimes designed to promote companies’ sustainable growth and raise people’s while-life employment capabilities by exploring joint tasks on merit-oriented personnel management such as the support of life-long learning, job creation support and other cooperative projects.

The takeaways of the deal include joint efforts to connect KS and NCS, the sharing of a variety of information on each industry’s standards, quality and certification qualifications, and the holding of educational programs and seminars designed to supply and spread NCS and KS.

HRD Korea President Uh Soo-bong said the signing of the MOU is expected to ramp up the utilization of NCS.

“HRD Korea will devote itself to realizing a merit-oriented society by utilizing and spreading the National Competency Standards,” he added.