‘7–11 a.m.’ ‘Hourly wage: 10,320 Korean won.’
Most part-time job postings on job sites are for convenience stores or restaurants. However, ‘caregiving part-time jobs’ are expected to emerge in the future. This is because the government is developing a public ‘caregiving part-time app’ to connect caregivers (job seekers) with nursing hospitals (employers).
According to sources familiar with the matter on August 28, the Ministry of Health and Welfare decided to include the cost of building the caregiving part-time app in next year’s government budget. The app is currently being developed by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). An NHIS official stated, “This follows President Lee Jae Myung’s directive to review the introduction of part-time caregiving.”
President Lee Jae Myung said at a Cabinet meeting last December, “Instead of thinking about importing foreign caregivers because we can’t find local ones, why not allow part-time work for 2–4 hours? This could supply domestic caregiving manpower at a lower cost.” Most caregivers at nursing hospitals currently work full-time. The idea is that if part-time caregiving jobs become available for 2–4 hours a day, like at convenience stores, part-time workers might be less burdened and more willing to work at nursing hospitals.
The government is creating the ‘caregiving part-time app’ because the shortage of caregivers is expected to worsen. Starting next year, the government will launch a ‘caregiving cost subsidy program.’ The 500 nursing hospitals selected for this program must increase their caregiving staff to 2–3 times the current level, in line with the government’s policy to improve caregiving quality.
However, many hospitals already struggling to hire caregivers say, “It’s nearly impossible to triple the workforce immediately.” To address this, the government plans to direct part-time workers to nursing hospitals to resolve the caregiving labor shortage.
The government is considering allowing only those who have completed government-certified caregiving training, nursing care workers, or those with caregiving experience to use the ‘caregiving part-time app.’
Nursing hospitals are generally skeptical. A director of a nursing hospital in Gyeongbuk said, “Many elderly patients cannot express their discomfort properly. Caregivers need to understand their intentions through gestures, which is difficult for part-time workers who come and go briefly.” A director of a nursing hospital in Seoul said, “If the hourly wage is the same, who would prefer changing diapers and bathing severely ill elderly patients over organizing goods at a convenience store?” There were also criticisms that “the very idea of hiring part-time caregivers in hospitals is dangerous.” On the other hand, some suggested, “Caregivers with experience who are currently working other full-time jobs might return.”
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