Corruption in vocational training

Arup Banerji, director of social protection and labor at the World Bank, said in October last year that the development of job skills is most important to create jobs and improve productivity, two items that top the agenda in most countries. British Prime Minister David Cameron said the same month that he will help people get out of the poverty trap by themselves by offering them jobs instead of welfare services. Many economists agree that creating jobs is the best welfare policy. Vocational education that seeks to enhance worker competiveness is becoming an important policy task.

The Human Resources Development Institute has been run by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 1994 under the consignment of the labor minister. The think tank is considered the best example of vocational training provided by private entities. Of 1,861 trainees that completed a two-year course in February this year, more than 98 percent (1,831) landed jobs. The institute is offering customized programs that meet industry needs and has had no corruption scandals in nearly 20 years of operation due to transparent organization.

Certain private entities entrusted by the government for vocational training have wasted taxpayers` money, however. According to the parliamentary inspection data on the Employment and Labor Ministry, 61 of 102 trainees taking courses on the maintenance of marine engines provided by a vocational school in Gwangju last year were over age 70 and five were in their 80s. The vocational school is suspected of mobilizing elderly people to get government subsidies of 259 million won (220,000 U.S. dollars). Vocational training for the elderly is necessary, but job training for those in their 70s and 80s is impractical. If private institutions entrusted by the government for vocational training engage in such practices, they will face criticism for stealing taxpayers` money.

To avoid increasing the number of public officials and the national budget, the government should entrust part of vocational education to private entities. The government is responsible for supervising private vocational training institutes to see if they are using public funds properly. A government employment agency in Gwangju inspected the vocational school in June last year but found no problems. If public officials had to pay for the training, they should not have conducted such a lax inspection. Both the vocational school and related public officials should get harsh punishment.

Editorial Writer Kwon Sun-hwal (shkwon@donga.com)