DIFFICULTIES IN DISABLED WORKERS FINDING JOBS

[Anchor Lead]

Smart farming, farm management automation based on cutting-edge industrial technologies, is becoming increasingly widespread. One smart farm is even helping the disabled people to become self-reliant. Automated equipment help disabled workers to carry out their jobs better, ultimately boosting productivity. But there are still many obstacles to overcome.

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Cherry tomatoes are growing inside this glass greenhouse. The blinds on the ceiling windows close automatically to control the amount of sunlight. Nutrients are given automatically. This is a farm operated with smart technology where all of its employees have developmental disability. Unlike other farms, all the processes from cultivation to washing and packaging are equipped with a system to allow those with disabilities to work.

[Soundbite] Lee Su-yeon(Worker with developmental disability) : "I’m glad to see the cherry tomatoes grow well. I’m glad that I can do this job well."

More than 30 people with disabilitites work at this farm. This was made possible because all the nutrient supply or temperature control tasks are automated.

[Soundbite] Lim Ji-yeong(Business Support Office, Purme Foundation) : "Jobs for disabled people usually mean the disabled workers assisting the main non-disabled workers. But in this farm, most of the work is done by workers with disability."

Tomatoes grown here are high quality and can be harvested all year round. They are sold to large corporations near the farm. Smart technology has created jobs for the disabled work force. But real life elsewhere isn't this rosy. Nearly 30% of all employees with disability work simple labor jobs. That's double the percentage of simple labor jobs in comparison to the total labor market. In contrast to the declining trend in simple labor, jobs for the disabled still remain largely in the primary and secondary industries. This means there's an urgent need to find various business types that help the disabled workers become self-reliant

[Soundbite] Kim Hyun-jong(Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities) : "The focus of assistance should be on how to adapt disabled workers’ strength into the digital world."

There are roughly 2.5 million people with disabilities over age 15 in Korea, but only 890,000 of them are employed.