Acute labour shortages see South Korea reach further and further afield to fill positions at its booming shipyards.
Some 280 workers have been sourced from landlocked Uzbekistan to start work this summer at a number of yards around the industrial city of Ulsan.
The workers will be paid South Korea’s minimum wage of 10,030 won ($7.60) per hour.
While foreign workers have previously been employed in South Korea’s shipbuilding industry, officials said this is the first time a local government is directly involved in the recruitment process. Ulsan is supporting the initiative by setting up shipbuilding training facilities in Uzbekistan.
The labour ministry and Ulsan city will evaluate the pilot program before considering further expansion.
South Korea has had a significant manpower shortage in recent years, exacerbated by increased shipbuilding contracts. The national government has been trying to mitigate this by increasing the yearly limit for skilled worker visas and forming training and recruitment agreements with Asian nations.
Seoul has gone further away to find labour sources, turning to landlocked Nepal a couple of years ago, with up to 3,000 Nepalis sought to come and work in South Korea alongside many workers coming from Southeast Asian nations such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.
