Struggles persist in hiring substitutes for parental leave

[Anchor]

So, the government has introduced incentives to encourage companies to change their stances.

They will directly assist in finding substitute workers for parental leave and increase the support funds.

However, it does not seem to have a significant effect yet.

To find out why, reporter Choi Yoo-kyung has investigated.

[Report]

At this small business that manufactures secondary battery equipment, about 20 employees have taken parental leave over the past three years.

However, they have hardly been able to hire substitute workers during that time.

This is because it is extremely difficult to find someone who is knowledgeable about the relevant tasks.

[Lee Sang-yoon/Small Business Manager: "Talented individuals in the fields of developers and software are quite scarce. For positions that require expertise, it is practically impossible to secure substitute workers."]

A school meal supply company with about 30 employees complains that there are no applicants even though they want to hire substitute workers.

[Lim Seung-ho/Small Business CEO: "Those individuals prefer permanent positions and do not want contract jobs, so there are many cases where they do not apply from the start."]

In a reality where job seekers want stable employment and companies want experienced workers to be immediately deployed, it is urgent to bridge this gap.

Although the government operates a system to find substitute workers, the number of people hired through this system is only about 3,000 to 4,000 annually.

The government has also decided to expand the support funds for small businesses that hire substitute workers to a maximum of 1.2 million won per person per month.

[Lee Ho-jun/CEO of 'CareerNet': "If support funds for both companies and substitute workers are provided simultaneously, it could create opportunities for continuous employment."]

As companies have identified the expansion of flexible work arrangements, such as part-time work, as the most critical task for balancing work and parenting, it seems necessary to establish and solidify these systems.

This is KBS News, Choi Yoo-kyung.