Aging Korea
It has been reported that 48.3% of Koreans with blue-collar jobs are middle-aged, while only 8.8% are between the ages of 15-29. Therefore, by early 2020, when most of the “baby boomers” (born in 1955-1963) will retire, it will become crucial to pass on expertise between generations in the industrial field.
On September 8, the International Trade Research Center of the Korean Trade Association pointed out, “The amount of younger production workers is excessively low for baby boomers to pass on their expertise-leading industrialization in the field.” This was published in the organization’s “Upcoming Severance of Skills in the Industrial Field” report.
According to the report, 40.8% of Korean production workers are over the age of 50, and 8.8% are from the next generation.
The problem is there are not enough young workers to learn the skills of the job. Since 2000, the average age of domestic employees has risen from 40.3 to 44.6. Specifically in the production industry, the average age rose from 40.9 to 48.3. The ratio of younger workers to a middle-aged workers above 50 dropped from 0.77 to 0.18 since 2000. Most positions which used to be filled by younger workers have now been filled by foreign workers. These workers usually plan on going back to their countries after a short while, or only participate in short-term projects.
The report pointed out that light industries such as lumber, paper, furniture, and drink are more likely to experience severance of skills from the overall production industry. Major industries such as electronics, automobiles, and shipbuilding have a comparably large number of younger workers, and have a less-serious aging workforce problem.