A Good Process and Validation

A few weeks ago, I finished a lecture on international employment and entrepreneurship in Seoul. Although the Korean government has put in a number of measures in the past decade, even putting a great deal of money into them for the past few years, they have not focused on the youth unemployment rate, which is said to be the highest ever recorded. Maybe it is because of this, but many young people have recently started to turn their eyes to employment abroad rather than domestic employment. In fact, many young people showed interest in my aforementioned lecture.

After the lecture, I felt bad about various things as I spoke with the young people there. Also, since I currently run a mentoring program in Canada, I am very familiar with the practical processes, so I felt sorry for their lack of information. I wanted to convey real and relevant information as well as the cold truth on the processes they would endure in the future, which may not have been what they wanted to hear.

First of all, there is a starting point of employment abroad. Many young people want to work abroad, but they do not know where to start, so they turn to government agencies and intermediaries who arrange their employment abroad. They take their word at face value, and with dreams of a rose-colored future, they board the plane. However, when they actually go abroad, the salary is lower, the environment is different, and the actual work itself might be different from what was promised. The reason is just so simple. It’s because the government and the intermediaries often lack the proper information they need about local companies, yet continue to act as agencies for them.

Not long ago,  I met a student who came to Canada through an internship abroad program through their university, but sighing, he told me that it had nothing to do with his major and that it seemed like the school was promoting this to simply increase their employment rates. Additionally, I have seen many instances where abroad agencies and intermediary businesses only do this to simply receive government employment grants, paying attention only to the process, and do not care about the results. Even the government that should act as intermediaries do this rather than acting as a proper filter because it works for now. In the short run, the employment rate could rise, but in the long run, it will be a failure. While it is important to increase the number of employees to increase the employment rate, the most important thing is to get proper information about local businesses to connect people with the right business, and making efforts to raise the quality of jobs which should be a top priority.

Another problem is the lack of preparation. Over the past few years, there have been many young Koreans who have been offered employment or internships through local workforce offices and agents. However, in a totally sober assessment, it is better for companies to hire someone who has citizenship as well as fluency in the local language. Not only is language a problem, but it is also a huge hassle to train people in local ways if they are accustomed to Korean culture. Not only is it difficult, but it also takes quite a bit of time. That’s why many young people come abroad with great expectations, but because of their lack of preparation, they lose their competitive edge. Rather than using their knowledge from their major, the majority of them are relegated to services that can be conducted in Korean or simple labor. Of course, even if it isn’t the job of their dreams, if they work hard, they will be able to advance to the next level. However, if one wants to achieve their goals, rather than simply putting in hard work, they would probably get more out of making a better choice through thorough preparation.

“Just as the bigger the tree, the deeper the roots, great achievement requires a long period of preparation.”

I once made a proposal to the Korean government. In order to see proper results, there needs to be a proper process, and for this purpose, young people who are planning for employment abroad should be well-prepared beforehand. To do this, local businesses should be vetted properly so that the probability of failure would be greatly reduced. It is a contradiction to continue to do the same things while hoping for a different outcome. There should be changes for better results, rather than focusing on the process to put on a show for others. In turn, young people who have chosen to go abroad for employment will be more successful at showing their excellence in work.