The Era of Population Decline and the Status and Challenges of Employment Support for High School Graduates by Local Governments

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KRIVET Issue Brief People are Our Hope

Publisher: Young Sun Ra | Date of issue: April 28, 2020 | Issued by: Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET)

The Era of Population Decline and the Status and Challenges of Employment Support for High School Graduates by Local Governments

- Over the past three years, about two-thirds of domestically employed vocational high school graduates have been employed within the regions city in which their high schools are located. Further, 41.2% of the local government officers responsible for hiring responded that “ preference for employment by local companies among vocational high school graduates is low. ^” This is 31.4% higher than the proportion of officers at the Office of Education who responded similarly, 26.9% higher than the proportion of HR managers at companies, and 10.5% higher than the proportion of heads of career departments at schools.

- Local government officials responded that there was weak demand for employment support to high school graduates within the local community and, in general, assessed low needs for employment support items to vocational high schools.

- Although the rate of awareness of the central government ’ s high school graduate employment policy among local government officials was low at 14.9%, the response to the need for improvement in employment support for high school graduates by the local government was high at 80.0%.

01 Necessity for Data Analysis

| Employment support for high school graduates should be considered an important local government strategy to address the future decline in the working-age population.

●

A sharp decline is projected in the working-age population of Korea (Statistics Korea, 2019). In the case of local governments of regions in which the population is rapidly decreasing, it is vital to revive the regional economy to minimize the “youth drain” and attract this demographic to the region through employment.

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Local governments need to have firm determination to secure employment for high school graduates to be encouraged to work within the region. In this way, local companies’ labor power shortage can be overcome. The role of local governments is critical to promoting the employment of high school graduates and developing regional economies in the decentralization age.

●

This study aims to identify the current status of local governments’ employment support for high school graduates in an era of population decline by utilizing the “Survey on the Status and Demand of Employment Support for High School Graduates” and suggest implications based on the results.

| Data for analysis: raw data from the 2019 “Survey on the Status and Demand of Employment Support for High School Graduates” regarding How to strengthen the role of the central and local governments and establish a cooperative system to promote employment of high school graduates

●

Subject for analysis: local government officers responsible for jobs and employment, heads of career departments at schools, HR managers at companies, officers at the Office of Education, etc.

<Table 1> Status of and Demand for Employment Support for High School Graduates (Unit: Persons) Div. Population (Target Sample

Organization) Target Sample Respondents Responding Organizations Respondents (Analysis)

Local government 243(243) 243 233 222

School 582(582) 582 555 555

Company 13,973(1,397) 1,397 1,670 1,296

Office of Education 17(17) 51 17 51

02 Awareness of the Demand for Employment Support for High School Graduates by Local Government Officials

| The overall conditions for employment support for high school graduates are insufficient. Local governments need to prioritize finding employment for high school graduates within the region and raising awareness of the employment support needed by schools.

2020

No.183

I Note I

This brief was excerpted and reorganized from Yoon, Hyoung-han et al. (2019), How to strengthen the role of the central and local governments and establish a cooperative system to promote employment of high school graduates, Job Planning Group, KRIVET.

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KRIVET Issue Brief

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Among vocational high schools, high schools in rural areas (Eup/Myeon) have poorer employment support conditions than those located in small-, medium- or large-sized cities; general high schools (comprehensive high schools, general high schools with specialized departments) have poorer employment support than specialized high schools or Meister high schools.

- The rate of establishment of departments dedicated to employment, by school location, was 80.3% in high schools in rural areas (Eup/Myeon), which was 16.5% lower than that in large cities and 12.5% lower than that in small- and medium-sized cities (p<.05).

Additionally, the employment support officer placement rate was 50.0% in high schools in rural areas (Eup/Myeon), which was 17.6% lower than that in large cities and 13.3% lower than that in small and medium cities (p <.05).

- The rate of establishment of departments dedicated to employment, by type of vocational high school, was 59.6% for general high schools, which was 32.8% lower than that for specialized high schools and 33.7% lower than that for Meister high schools (p

<.05). The placement rate of employment support officers was 25.5% for general high schools, which was 36.8% lower than that for specialized high schools and 47.8% lower than that for Meister high schools (p <.05).

[establishment of departments dedicated to employment] [employment support officer placement]

[Figure 1] Employment Support Conditions of Vocational High Schools (Unit: %)

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About two-thirds of domestically employed vocational high school graduates have been employed within the regions city in which their high schools are located.

- Over the past three years, the rate of employment at local companies has steadily declined over the past three years: 72.3%

in 2016, 68.7% in 2017, and 63.8% in 2018. Still, compared with those with other educational backgrounds, local high school graduates have a higher preference for employment by companies located within the region of their high schools.

- About 41.2% of the local government officers responsible for hiring responded that “preference for employment by local companies among vocational high school graduates is low.” This is 31.4% higher than the proportion of similar responses from officers at the Office of Education, 26.9% higher than that from HR managers at companies, and 10.5% higher than that from heads of career departments at schools.

[Figure 2] Perception of “Preference for Employment by Local Companies among Vocational High School Graduates” and

“Preference for Vocational High Schools” (Unit: %)

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Local government officials perceive that “the local community’s demand for employment support for high school graduates from local governments” is low (Figure 3), and the items they perceive as necessary for employment support for high school graduates are different from the needs of the schools (Figure 4).

- More local government officers answered that “the local community’s demand for employment support for high school graduates from local governments” is “high (, very high)” than answered “low , very low)” (p<.05). The answers varied depending on the local government types; the officers of elementary local governments answered “low” more frequently than did those of metropolitan governments (p <.05).

[Figure 3] Perception of the “Local Community’s Demand for Employment Support for Vocational High School Graduates by Local Governments” (Unit: %)

Low High Low Medium High

33.2

27.1 29.0 29.0

24.8

9.3 17.8

13.1 7.9

15.4

[All]

Principal, teachers Office of

Education Students,

parents Local

companies Local council

50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0

21.4

34.0

14.3

28.0

14.3

30.0 21.4

29.5

0.0

26.5 42.9

7.0 50.0

15.5 21.4

12.5 28.6

6.5 50.0

13.0

[Metropolitan governments] [Elementary local governments]

Principal,

teachers Principal,

teachers Office of

Education Office of

Education Students,

parents Students,

parents Local

companies Local

council Local

council

96.8 92.8

80.3 92.4 93.3

59.6

by school location by vocational high school type small- and

medium-sized cities

Large cities rural areas Specialized

high school Meister high school general high

school

67.6 63.3

50.0 62.3 73.3

25.5

by school location by vocational high school type small- and

medium-sized cities

Large cities rural areas by

school location Specialized high school Meister high

school general

high school (vocational class)

30.7

9.8

41.2

14.3

26.2

31.4

53.2

43.0

58.8

5.5

17.2 (%)

Heads of career departments at schools Officers at the Office of Education Local government officers

responsible for hiring HR managers at companies

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April 28, 2020

- As for the items that are needed to support the employment of vocational high school graduates, local government officers most often mentioned “Support for employment guidance personnel in schools” (66.1%), then “Provision of employment education contents and employment support programs” (65.2%), and then “Establishment and operation of connection and cooperation system with related institutions” (64.2%). On the contrary, heads of career departments at vocational high schools answered in the order of “Finding and providing jobs for high school graduates” (94.4%), “Financial support for employment to schools” (90.5%), and “Encouraging local businesses to hire high school graduates” (86.0%).

[Figure 4] Perception of the “Need for Employment Support for High School Graduates by the Local Government” (Unit: %) - The heads of career departments at vocational high schools answered that “the degree of interest and support for employment

among vocational high school students (including prospective graduates)” is “high” (high, very high) in 35.1% of responses and that “the establishment and operation of vocational high school employment support policy (Business)” is “high” (high, very high) in 33.5% of responses, revealing a difference between the expected and actual support from local governments.

03 Cooperation with Local Governments to Support the Employment of High School Graduates

| Cooperation between the related institutions in the local community and the central government needs to be strengthened, as does the system supporting employment of high school graduates.

●

As it is not currently a priority to support the employment of high school graduates in local governments, only a small number of these governments have a department dedicated to this task.

- The share of local governments with a dedicated department is only 9.0% (20 places), and the employment support provided by local governments is prioritized as follows: youth → middle-aged → career interrupted women → elderly → high school graduates.

- The items that measure local governments’ support for the employment of high school graduates include “Vocational guidance for high school graduates, job placement and job competency development training, etc.” (45.0%) and “Employment promotion program for high school graduates including job fairs” (39.6%).

[Figure 5] Local Government Support for the Employment of High School Graduates (Unit: %)

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Local governments are required to operate an inter-agency employment support network (consultation body) and cooperate with the central government to support the employment of high school graduates.

- The share of local governments who have established employment support networks (consultation bodies) with related institutions to provide this support is 8.6% (23.5% in metropolitan areas, 7.3% in basic areas) of the 222 local governments that responded; 52.6% of these operated once or twice in 2018, and 36.8% were not in operation at all.

- When asked about the degree of cooperation between the central and local governments for the support of high school graduates’ employment, local government officers gave an average score of less than 3 out of 5.

Metropolitan governments Elementary local governments All

Local government officers Heads of career departments

at schools

66.1 80.6

65.2 84.5

64.2 84.9

63.4 86.0

62.9 72.6

62.5 79.8

62.0 94.4

62.0 75.3

59.7 90.5

58.8 83.1

Provide employment education contents

and employment support programs

Identify and provide the employment

position for graduates of high

school and job opportunity(

Support employment guidance personnel

in schools

Match companies and students via support (i.e., job fairs)Find and provide jobs for high

school graduates Establish and

operate a connection and cooperation system with related

institutions

Provide information about job competency

development Encourage local

businesses to hire high school

graduates

Financial support for employment to

schools Identify the

employment status and needs for support of students

and schools

Identify local employment demands for high school graduates

76.5

42.445.0 76.5

36.639.6 47.1

28.830.2 29.4 22.022.5

52.9

20.022.5 58.8

82.9

20.3 17.6

8.89.5 Employment promotion

project for high school graduates, including job fairs

Creation of target and crate plans for promoting the employment of high school

graduates Vocational guidance for

high school graduates, job placement and vocational competency development training, and etc.

Financial support for high schools to promote the employment of high school

graduates Cooperation with

companies Identification of local industries and labor supply

and demand trends

Financial support for vocational high schools to nurture high school graduate

workforce

100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0

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｜ KRIVET Social Policy Building, Sejong National Research Complex, 370, Sicheong-daero, Sejong-si, Republic of Korea ｜ Tel: 044-415-5000/5100 ｜ www.krivet.re.kr ｜

KRIVET Issue Brief

[Figure 6] Perception of the “Degree of Cooperation between the Central and Local Governments”

by the Local Government Officers (Unit: Points)

- When asked why there is a lack of cooperation between the central and local governments, the local government officers mentioned the reasons in the following order: “Lack of dedicated department” (19.5%), “Lack of links between policies of ministries of the central government” (18.2%), “Lack of connection between local governments and Office of Education” (13.2%), “Unclear roles of related institutions” (13.2%), “Lack of dedicated personnel and frequent replacement” (11.4%), and “Lack of budget” (8.2%).

[Figure 7] Reasons for Lack of Cooperation between the Central and Local Governments for Employment Support of Vocational High Schools (Unit: %)

- Although the rate of awareness of the high school graduate employment policy, which was jointly announced by the related ministries of the central government and local government officials, was low at 14.9% (47.1% in metropolitan governments, 12.2% in elementary local governments), the response to the need for improvement in employment support for high school graduates by the local government was high at 80.0% (68.8% in metropolitan governments, 80.9% in elementary local governments).

[Figure 8] Local Government’s Awareness of High School Graduation Policies and Prospects of Changes in Employment Support for High School Graduates (Unit: %)

04 Implications

●

Job seekers, after graduating from high school, should be able to receive systematic employment support in the region, regardless of the school environment, the location, or the type of school. To do so, local governments need to realize that local high school graduates comprise more “region-friendly labor power” and more significantly contribute to the development of the regional economy than do those with other educational backgrounds.

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It is necessary to strengthen the high school graduate employment support system by, for example, building awareness of high school graduate employment support, strengthening high school graduate employment support capabilities, and expanding cooperation in various employment support infrastructures in order to promote high school graduate employment-related policies and to enable the central and local governments to participate and take the lead in their respective roles actively.

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The central government and local governments must participate in the policy-making process and exchange opinions and information as equal partners to establish and promote employment-related policies for high school graduates. Therefore, it is necessary to actively operate a (non)regular consultative body where the government, local governments, city and provincial offices of education, vocational high schools, and related organizations can exchange and share employment policies as well as information and opinions regarding high school graduates.

Yoon, Hyoung-han (Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, KRIVET)

2.53 2.35 2.36

2.67

2.35 2.37

2.80

2.41 2.44

2.73

2.43 2.45

2.73

2.38 2.40

Collecting opinions when establishing employment policy for high school

graduates Regular consultation between

employment support organizations Sharing the policy of the human resources

of high school graduate, and employment policies, etc.

Sharing the information of high school

graduate employment by companies Joint support to the manual for the employment support for the high school

graduate, programs and etc.

3.00 2.80 2.60 2.40 2.20 2.00

18.8 18.1 18.2 18.8

3.9 5.0 18.8

7.4 8.2 12.5

20.1 19.5

6.3 11.8 11.4

0.0 14.2 13.2

25.0

12.3 13.2

Government silo Lack of links between policies

of ministries of the central government

Lack of budget Lack of dedicated

department Lack of connection between

local governments and Office of Education Lack of dedicated

personnel Unclear roles of related

institutions

25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0

I Note I

The perception on the policy support for high school graduates: 'Do not know('Do not know well', 'do not know'), Neutral('Neutral'), Know('know well', 'totally know')

Do not know Neutral Know

I Note I

Prospects of changes in employment support for high school graduates: Decrease (“It should be decreased greatly” and “It should be decreased”), Maintain ( “ It should be maintained as it is”), Increase (“It should be increased” and “It should be increased greatly”)

Reduce Maintain Increase

(%) (%)

11.8

52.7

49.5 41.2

35.1

35.6 47.1

12.2

14.9

6.3

2.5

2.7 25.0

16.7

17.3

68.8

80.9

80.0 I Note I

Average score out of five points.

1 (Strongly disagree), 2 (Disagree), 3 (Neutral), 4 (Agree), 5 (Strongly agree)

Metropolitan governments Elementary local governments All