Gov't to train workers at hard-pressed car parts companies

SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) -- The government said on Sunday it will offer to train workers in the car parts industry who may be laid off in the face of plummeting auto sales.

The program will be jointly operated by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and
Ministry of Labor and start in mid February. It is expected to help 3,900 workers
receive up-to-date training in quality control and management skills.
In 2008, South Korea's car production slipped 6.4 percent from the year before,
with domestic sales and exports falling 5.3 percent and 5.7 percent,
respectively. The decision by Ssangyong Motor Co., the country's smallest
automaker, to file for court receivership on Jan. 9 has fueled concerns of
layoffs in the sector.
There are roughly 159,322 people employed in car parts manufacturing with 63.3
percent or 100,872 belonging to small- and medium- size enterprises (SME).
During the month-long training program, companies may receive salary support from
the labor ministry's 60 billion won employment support fund. The fund will pay
companies up to 75 percent of the salary of those workers taking the training
program to help make up for lost labor.
"The program will be tailored to help employees at small-sized companies that
have been hit the hardest by global slump," said a government official, who added
that many of these companies do not have the resources to train workers on their
own.
Companies that have supplied parts to Ssangyong may sign up for the program,
along with those that have sold components to other carmakers.
"It is a form of 'work-sharing' to dissuade SMEs from firing workers," the expert
said.
Besides the money that will go into wage support, the training program is
expected to cost 692,308 won per person, with a total of 2.7 billion won to be
used until the end of August.
The ministry said that although no funding has been secured at present for
expansion, the program could be extended to other industries.
Analysts expect that South Korea's economy contracted by more than 3 percent
annually in the fourth quarter of 2008, with local think tanks predicting minus
growth from January through March.