Human Resources Planning in the Republic of Korea

During the 1980s the Korean economy will have to undergo far-reaching structural changes. The major problems faced by the Korean labor market continue to be an excessive demand for college graduates and an excessive supply of high school graduates. Their solution requires a renewed national commitment to human resource development with emphasis on technical education and vocational training. Two means of tackling these problems are the establishment of institutional linkages between formal education and vocational training and improvement of the vocational training system. Specific measures that should be taken are (1) revision and clarification of the educational and training goals of vocational junior colleges and high schools, (2) expansion of educational upgrading opportunities for employed workers, (3) expansion of the employment of high school graduates through improvements of their quality, (4) improvement of the practical training facilities of vocational high schools, (5) review of the compulsory training and levy system, (6) establishment of an incentive system to motivate business to provide inplant worker training, (7) improvement in the personnel management of enterprises, (8) nationalization of public training institutions, and (9) establishment of an autonomous public agency for training and skill tests. (YLB)