Can Busan Shipyards Overcome Labor Shortages? Filipino Welders Deployed

(Busan = Yonhap News) Reporter Cho Jung-ho – Foreign workers are being deployed to shipyards in the Busan area, raising expectations that this may help alleviate the chronic labor shortage in the shipbuilding industry. According to the shipbuilding industry on the 28th, 26 Filipino workers entered Busan via Gimhae Airport on the 23rd. These workers, who are experienced welders responsible for assembly tasks at the Subic Shipyard in the Philippines, have been assigned to HJ Heavy Industries' Yeongdo Shipyard. The reason for deploying foreign workers to HJ Heavy Industries, as with other shipyards, is that while the order volume has increased significantly since last year, there have been concerns about delays in the overall production process due to a shortage of on-site labor. The newly deployed Filipino workers hold welding qualifications equivalent to those required by Korean shipyards, and they are expected to help shipyards struggling with a shortage of welding labor. HJ Heavy Industries has recently secured contracts for two methanol-powered container ships worth 316.7 billion KRW with HMM, and has also secured orders for new naval support vessels and coast guard patrol boats. Despite the recent surge in orders, the shipbuilding industry, including HJ Heavy Industries, has been facing difficulties in securing the necessary labor for ship construction. A source from the shipbuilding industry said, "While the order backlog at domestic shipyards is increasing, it is nearly impossible to hire local workers. The government has been issuing special visas since last year to actively bring in foreign welding workers, but it has not yet met expectations." A representative from Goldilocks Shipping, who facilitated the introduction of the Filipino welding workers, stated, "The newly introduced foreign workers lack shipyard experience, so additional training is needed, and it will take more time than expected for them to begin hull welding work. However, utilizing workers who have worked at the Subic Shipyard in the Philippines is expected to significantly help improve the domestic shipbuilding labor supply.".