[Daily Construction Newspaper Reporter Dongwoo Kim] The Korea Specialty Construction Association announced on the 25th that it has been granted permission to issue E7-1 (Specialty Personnel) visas for the first time in the construction industry, creating an opportunity for foreign specialists to be deployed to domestic construction sites.
According to the association, the E-7 (Special Activities) visa is issued to individuals seeking to work in fields designated by the Minister of Justice as particularly necessary for the introduction of foreign workers with specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities, such as to enhance national competitiveness. The E7-1 (Specialized Personnel) visa is currently available for 67 categories. While the construction industry is permitted to hire five categories, including civil engineering specialists, there have been no cases of visas being issued to construction sites to date.
This visa issuance is a meaningful achievement that was achieved after overcoming realistic difficulties such as the rigid application of foreign worker policies and negative perceptions of the construction industry, and is considered an important first step toward resolving the construction industry’s chronic labor shortage.
The association has been making multifaceted efforts to secure domestic supply (dispatch) of not only simple laborers (E-9, non-professional employment) but also specialized technicians, such as surveyors, needed in the field through the employment permit system.
First, early this year, we worked closely with two of our affiliated companies, Banseok Construction Co., Ltd. and Kyungdong Construction Co., Ltd., to complete a pilot visa program for local Vietnamese talent recruitment. This included conducting domestic document screenings, video interviews, and local skills verification. To efficiently oversee foreign workforce policy and supply (remittance) related work, we established a “Foreign Workforce Support and Management Task Force,” chaired by Incheon City Council Chairman Ji Moon-cheol.
An association official said, “This introduction of foreign professionals is expected to alleviate the difficulties faced by construction sites, which are currently experiencing a severe labor shortage due to the aging population and the reluctance of domestic and young people to find jobs, while also strengthening the competitiveness of the construction industry as a whole through synergy with the existing workforce and increased productivity.”
T/F Chairman Ji Moon-cheol said, “As this pilot project for introducing foreign professionals has been successful, we plan to expand the project in the future through demand surveys targeting all member companies,” and “We will work closely with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other related ministries to help the supplied (transported) foreign workers adapt to the domestic construction environment, resolve language issues, and systematically manage human resources.”
In addition, the association is promoting the expansion of the E9 (non-professional employment) quota and the relaxation of restrictions on movement between sites, the relaxation of requirements for conversion to E7-4 (skilled workers), the pilot introduction of E7-3 (general skilled workers), and the introduction of a work-study program for international students.
