Image credit: STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co
After years of decline, the shipbuilding sector is on the rise in South Korea. However, the Asian country is having many difficulties finding workers for these specific sectors. As a result, the country's authorities are facilitating the entry of foreign workers to work in shipyards.
The growth of the shipbuilding sector in Korea follows a long period of restructuring in the sector in the country. Over the past 10 years, many South Korean workers have been laid off to expedite the overhaul. However, as there were many workers laid off in the not-so-distant past, South Koreans do not welcome returning to the sector.
Data released by Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association (KOSHIPA), showed that the number of workers in the shipbuilding industry in Korea has plummeted in recent years. Last year, for example, there were 92 thousand workers, however, the number exceeded 200 a few years ago.
Recently, South Korea authorized the entry of a total of 4,428 workers into the construction naval. In addition, new rules for immigration are yet to be released to fill in the gaps.
The South Korean Ministry of Justice will simplify visa requirements for foreign workers, the well-known E-7. For the naval area, the visa has four areas: welding, painting, electrical engineering and plant engineering.
During this period, the shipyards invested a lot of money in an attempt to automate the construction process as much as possible. In the last 18 months, the sector in that country has received many orders for container ships and LNG. In terms of value, South Korean shipyards accounted for 49% of new ship orders on the planet.
A few years ago, the Japan had to go through a similar process. To restructure the shipbuilding sector in the country, government officials had to facilitate the entry of foreigners to work in the sector.
