Measures to Improve Skills Development Accounts: Focusing on Quality Management

Skills development accounts, which are used in a voucher-based training program, represented 71 percent of the total budget for training the unemployed in 2010, and will supposedly represent the whole training budget in 2011. This research examines the current conditions in the promotion of skills development accounts, and suggests future improvements. The research details and methods are as follows. First, the current status and performance were identified through an analysis of statistical data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and HRD-Net data. Second, case studies for Germany and the U.S. were conducted with regard to the evaluation of training courses and the assessment of training institutions. Third, professional conferences were held, in which officials of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Job Centers, experts, and training institutions participated. Fourth, interviews with those involved in training institutions were conducted to identify the problems related to the quality of training. Based on the analysis, suggestions for future improvements were made as follows, beginning with the aspect of the trainees. First, raising the level of expenses borne by trainees who participate in training provided by training institutions to which the government has given poor ratings can be a mechanism to improve the quality of vocational training services. Second, a possible alternative to facilitate trainee awareness that the skills development account is their right is to impose a lifetime ceiling on training cost as is done in the U.S., rather than supporting training without limitation as in the current system. Third, though a trainee selection system is being prepared, such as reinforcing Commission for Account Issuance, further strengthening of standards for skills development account issuance is required to select trainees aiming at employment. It is also necessary to operate skills development accounts as a program not for all unemployed, but for the long-term unemployed for 3～6 months after registering for employment, or to selectively operate the system targeting those who are not employed. Fourth, it is known many participants pursue a kind of ‘training shopping’, and some of these participants do not complete the training. Therefore, it may be necessary to reduce the limit cost of skills development accounts and restrict training courses. The next point is related to training institutions and training courses. First, the motivation of training institutions to prepare quality management systems needs to be reinforced. For example, it is necessary to introduce an incentive program in which additional points are given to the training institutions that adopt a quality management system such as ISO. Second, it is necessary to allow only those training institutions with certain evaluation ratings to open training courses using skills development accounts. Third, employment rate and employment retention rate should be reflected in the evaluation of the suitability of training courses for skills development accounts, in order to encourage training institutions to pursue best practices as they face increasing difficulties in guidance, management and supervision due to the expansion in the number of training institutions and courses. Fourth, suitable training courses for skills development accounts should be acknowledged according to the demand of the labor market. Fifth, the method of evaluating the suitability of training courses for skills development accounts needs to shift from the current centralized approach to an approach focusing on local employment centers. Sixth, to activate the education and training market through the co-existence of training financially supported by the government and general paid training, it is necessary to reflect the capability of conducting general paid training in the evaluation of the suitability of training courses for skills development accounts. Seventh, it is critical to introduce minimum standards in order to provide counseling for trainees in evaluating the suitability of training courses for skills development accounts, and to increase the weight of employment performance and trainee counseling in assessing training institutions. The final point is related to the government. First, the utilization of records management needs to be enhanced. Training records of skills development accounts is managed in the Human Resource Development Training Information Network(HRD-net) of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The utilization of the records needs to be reinforced, as those records can be an important basic background for r？sum？sto be submitted to companies, as well as training records that are utilized in foreign countries. Second, it is necessary to examine the introduction of training accreditation to improve the prior evaluation and assessment of the suitability of training courses for skills development accounts.2008년부터 시작된 직업능력개발계좌제의 당초 정책목표를 달성하면서 제도를 안착시키기 위해서는 직업능력개발계좌제를 둘러싼 각종 문제점들에 대한 개선이 지속적으로 이루어져야 할 필요가 있다. 이 연구에서는 지금까지의 직업능력개발계좌제 추진과정에서 나타나고 있는 현황들을 살펴보면서, 향후 전반적인 개선방향들을 제시하고자 한다. 정부의 훈련품질 제고 관련 주요 정책수단인 적합훈련과정의 심사 및 개설 현황에 대한 분석, 기존의 훈련기관 평가현황 분석, 외국의 훈련품질 제고 관련 사례 분석을 중심으로 계좌제의 성공을 좌우하게 되는 직업훈련의 품질개선을 위한 정책방안을 중점적으로 제시하고자 한다. ○ 주요내용 - 훈련참여 및 수료, 취업 등 직업능력개발계좌제의 추진현황 분석 - 자기부담률 조정에 따른 훈련수요의 변화 및 훈련참여자 의사 분석 - 훈련과정 심사 및 훈련기관 평가 사례 분석 - 외국 바우처제도의 품질관리 사례 분석 - 개선 방안요 약 제1장 서론 제1절 연구의 필요성 및 목적 1 제2절 연구내용 및 연구방법 3 제3절 연구범위 4 제2장 직업능력개발계좌제 추진현황 제1절 추진실적현황 7 1. 예산집행 8 2. 계좌발급 및 훈련실적 9 제2절 자부담비율 조정 관련 사례 및 의견조사결과 16 1. 근로자자율적능력개발제도 사례(2005～2008년) 검토 16 2. 자부담비율 조정 관련 훈련생 의견조사결과 35 제3절 소결 42 제3장 직업능력개발계좌제 훈련 참여와 취업실태 제1절 분석 개요 45 제2절 계좌발급과 훈련참여 49 1. 계좌발급자 추이(’08.9～’10.5) 49 2. 3개월 훈련참여율과 첫 훈련까지의 기간(’08.9～’10.2) 54 제3절 훈련 이수와 취업 59 1. 훈련참여율과 순훈련수료율 59 2. 계좌발급 후 첫 훈련참여까지의 기간 64 3. 훈련횟수 67 4. 취업률 70 제4절 소결 74 제4장 직업능력개발계좌제 품질관리제도 현황 제1절 적합훈련과정 심사제도 77 1. 심사절차와 심사기준 77 2. 심사결과 개요 92 3. 심사의 문제와 개선방안 94 제2절 훈련기관 평가제도 97 1. 계좌제 훈련기관과 훈련기관 평가 97 2. 계좌제 훈련기관 평가 101 제3절 소결 107 1. 요약 107 2. 시사점과 개선방안 109 제5장 외국 바우처제도의 품질관리제도 사례 제1절 외국의 훈련품질관리 개관 113 제2절 독일의 품질관리 사례 116 1. 직업교육훈련품질 논의의 역사와 계좌제 훈련 품질관리체제의특성 116 2. 공급측 품질관리 124 4. 수요측 품질관리 138 5. 요약 144 제3절 미국의 품질관리 사례 147 1. 훈련생 선발: 훈련적격자 판단 147 2. 훈련기관 관리 및 훈련비 150 3. 지역별 적합직업훈련과정 선정 153 4. 적합훈련과정 선정 시 노동시장성과 관련기준 159 제4절 소결 161 제6장 논의 및 개선방안 제1절 훈련생 관련 166 제2절 훈련기관 및 훈련과정 관련 168 제3절 정부 관련 170 SUMMARY 173 <부록 1> 직업능력개발계좌제 직업훈련참여자 설문조사지 179 <부록 2> 제3장의 상세표 183 참고문헌 18