KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

Research on Implementation Plans for Reinforcing Employment Competency of Marriage Immigrants

 

Bok-Tae Kim
Seung-Hyun Lee

 

The purpose of this study is in proposing implementation plans for reinforcing the employment competency of married immigrants. In the accomplishment of the research purpose, the authors first examined the characteristics of female marriage immigrants’economic activities and current policies on female marriage immigrants. The results of the study revealed that 52.4% of female marriage immigrants are currently in the state of employment and that 82.5% of female marriage immigrants engaged in either service or simple labor work are paid less than $1,250 per month on average. 84.1% of currently unemployed female marriage immigrants showed intention to work in the future. The participation rate of female marriage immigrants in different economic activities was 17% higher for those who have experienced employment support services than those who have not. Also, those who have received help from the employment support services showed higher earned income and lower working hours than those who have not used any of the employment support services. On the other hand, female marriage immigrants that have experiences with the multicultural family support center showed lower participation rate in economic activities and earned income than those with no experiences with the multicultural family support center. In order to enhance both the employment rate and quality of job, a complementary cooperation between organizations specializing in employment support services and multicultural family support center is necessary. Current policies on female marriage immigrants’ employment support seek to expand the number of eligible applicants as well as the organizations and programs that offer employment support services. Such status shows that policies supporting economic activities of female marriage immigrants are continuing to proliferate both quantitatively and qualitatively. However, businesses specialized for female marriage immigrants are still scarce as female marriage immigrants have been simply added to the existing list as an additional target of each governmental ministry’s businesses on job creation and employment education training. Moreover, although it is difficult to estimate the budget just for female marriage immigrants, according to the second multicultural family support policy’s implementation plans by year, about $3 million was assigned in 2013, $5.7 million in 2014, and $4.97 million in 2015. This implies that the overall budget for employment support services targeted to female marriage immigrants is exceedingly low.

Secondly, the authors studied the Women’s Saeil Center and multicultural family support center’s programs strengthening employment competency of marriage immigrants. As a result of analyzing the performance of the Saeil Center’s vocational education and training programs, most of the programs lacked participation of female marriage immigrants. Currently, female marriage immigrants are only participating in few particular programs that are offered under limitation. Also, the number of marriage immigrants employed after participating in the program ranged from none to five per center, which suggests that the vocational education training programs at the Saeil Center is practically of no help for female marriage immigrants. Vocational education programs targeting just female marriage immigrants could not be found as well. The authors looked at employment and education support programs offered by 211 multicultural family support centers nationwide. In doing so, programs were assorted by regions including metro region, urbanrural complex region, and rural region. The results showed no difference in terms of the programs’ setup, making it difficult to make an evaluation that a specialized employment education takes place depending on different regions. Furthermore, the big gap between the number of users receiving the basic employment knowledge education and the number of users getting the employment training from organizations specializing in employment training that connects one to employment shows that the process of becoming employed after receiving basic employment knowledge education is full of challenges. Thus, education programs must be designed so that recipients of the policy receives enough specialized education even after the basic employment knowledge education.

Thirdly, this research diagnoses employment support organizations for female marriage immigrants through the PEST-SWOT analysis and proposes different policy directions. In terms of the policy direction in regards to enhancing marriage immigrants’ employment competency, strengths and opportunity factors of the Saeil Center and multicultural family support center should be emphasized while their weaknesses and threats should be complemented through cooperation. As of now, employment support policies for female marriage immigrants are being implemented in a way that focuses on dealing with weaknesses and threats of the Saeil and multicultural family support center. Hence, making adjustments to the policy direction and building a new system that fits with the new policy direction are necessary. Firstly, we should push forward the employment support policies for female marriage immigrants in terms of both economic and social enhancement. Next, diversity of female marriage immigrants should be sought after so that they can become one active economic subject in the Korean society. Thirdly, systematic support programs that encompass employment training, employment, and follow-up management after employment should be equipped.

For implementation plans that can reinforce marriage immigrants’ employment competency, first, job search and employment support training programs run by the governmental sectors should focus on searching for jobs that can utilize female marriage immigrants and eventually augment their employment competency. Secondly, private sectors should develop the‘Global together connection work’in each region as their job search and employment support education program. Thirdly, community idea contests and incubating businesses (self-group known as UPGRADE business) should be implemented for female marriage immigrants in the economic and social fields. Businesses that encourage female marriage immigrants to seek for jobs by themselves and to consider different ideas for idea contests related to employment will expand the limited field of employment and create new jobs.

Keywords: Marriage immigrant, enhancement of employment competency, Women’s Saeil Center, multicultural family support center, PEST-SWOT analysis