The government and Indonesia have agreed to jointly develop outstanding human resources in shipbuilding in Indonesia for deployment to shipbuilding sites in Korea. Shown is Hanwha Ocean's shipyard in Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. (Hanwha Ocean)

By Israa Mohamed

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Indonesia have jointly launched a system to develop outstanding human resources in shipbuilding in the Southeast Asian nation for direct hiring by Korean shipbuilding sites.

The ministry on Aug. 5 said it opened a center in the Javanese city of Serang to train personnel in the Korean language and shipbuilding technology to develop workers for the industry.

The ministry held five months of consultations on the project with the Korea Offshore and Shipbuilding Association (KOSHIPA) and Indonesia's Ministry of Manpower.

The center will teach Korean necessary for communication and technology customized for Korean shipbuilding. In the first three months, it will train 30-40 people in welding skills required by Korean shipbuilders.

The facility will also offer programs like courses on shipbuilding welding certificates, preparation for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) and safety education.

"We plan to boost the center's role by expanding the number of trainees and complementing points of improvement through a pilot project and expanding to other countries," the ministry said. "Through consultations with relevant government branches, we will also review modes of policy support such as links with official development assistance and simplification of visa issuance."

ess8@korea.kr