S. Korea suffers shortfall in skilled technicians, engineers

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- A government report said Wednesday that South Korea is experiencing a shortfall in skilled technicians and engineers, which can affect industrial competitiveness.

The findings by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy showed that local companies
hired 35,317 new workers classified as technicians and engineers in 2007, falling
short of the total demand in the cited year by 5.74 percent.
In 2005, the shortfall stood at 5.98 percent and dipped to 4.41 percent in the
next year before rising again.
Technical personnel are experts possessing a two-year college degree or higher
who can perform research and development (R&D) and engineering. A shortage of
technicians can affect companies' R&D projects and the quality of goods produced,
leading to a steady decline in competitiveness.
"A general lack of interest in engineering and technical fields at school, which
is fueled by a gap in pay and work environment compared to white-collar jobs, is
making it hard for companies to hire workers," said an official.
He said weak social perception of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
make it particularly hard for companies to hire engineers.
SMEs experienced an average shortage of 7.20 percent of their requirements --
more than twice the shortfall of large conglomerates, which stood at 3.36
percent.
An inadequacy rate of 9.09 percent, representing almost 1,000 workers, was
tallied for the systems processing and computer operations sectors, followed by
the machinery sector.
The latest findings showed that of 3.54 million workers in the country in 2007,
16.4 percent, or 580,437, were engineers and technicians, an increase of 12,855
from the year before. Of them, 373,341 were employed in the manufacturing sector.
The ministry then said for 2008, about 32,746 new jobs may be created for
technicians and engineers, with more than 56 percent in manufacturing.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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