Gov`t to take steps against manpower shortage in `3-D,` IT jobs

The government has mapped out comprehensive plans to solve the shortage of manpower in the information and technology (IT) industry and so-called ``3-D (difficult, dirty, dangerous)`` jobs. The plan features such measures as training 110,000 people for the IT industry this year and suspending unemployment allowances for job seekers who refuse ``3-D`` job arrangements twice or more without due reason.

The comprehensive plans were confirmed Saturday in a meeting of vice ministers of related ministries, such as the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Information and Communication, Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Labor.

The government will also provide state-of-the-art equipment to IT departments at universities, expand the number of students in the departments, and open three IT-related technical colleges, including the Seoul Information and Technical College. Under the comprehensive programs, jobless people who find work at small and medium-sized manufacturing firms will be given allowances.

Meanwhile, the government decided to take strong punitive measures, including the suspension of payments for livelihood, against people who receive government subsidies under the people`s basic livelihood guarantee system but do not participate in projects to help with their self-support without due reason. The government plans to revise the current ``foreign industrial trainees`` system because the number of illegal foreign workers staying here is continuously increasing as many of foreign trainee workers move to ``3-D jobs.`` The government introduced the ``foreign industrial trainee`` system to make up for the shortage of manpower at industrial sites instead of the legal work permit formula.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com