The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises announced on the 25th that it will change the name of its job matching platform 'Great Small Businesses' for outstanding small and medium enterprises and young job seekers to 'Great Strong Enterprises' and will begin its new operation. This is a measure following the integration of the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups' 'Great Small Businesses' and the Ministry of Employment and Labor's 'Strong Enterprises' initiatives.
With the name change of the initiative, the criteria for selecting outstanding small and medium enterprises have been significantly strengthened. Previously, six qualification criteria were applied, including credit ratings, operating profit, and turnover rates; however, moving forward, the evaluation will comprehensively assess the overall business competitiveness based on financial statements, including operating profit margins, total assets growth rates, and the attractiveness of corporations to job seekers.
Incentives will be provided for the 'Great Strong Enterprises'. Currently, selected corporations can present hiring information to job seekers through dedicated recruitment sections for great strong enterprises on JobKorea, Saramin, and Incruit. Additionally, they can receive discounts on training participation expenses at the Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Training Institute for employee capability enhancement support.
Lee Myung-ro, head of the human resources policy department at KBIZ, noted, "Small and medium enterprises are suffering from chronic labor shortages, and the situation of job mismatches is worsening as the number of unemployed young people exceeds 500,000," adding, "We will ensure that the restructuring of the 'Great Strong Enterprises' service can serve as an opportunity to resolve the job imbalance between small and medium enterprises and young individuals."