"It will take considerable time for AI to replace the tacit knowledge that humans have acquired through long experience and repetition. In a way, this presents new opportunities in various jobs," said Lee Byung-hoon, head of the Korea Industrial Human Resources Agency. While there is significant fear that AI will eliminate jobs, the more important change is that job content is evolving rather than disappearing.
For South Korean workers, the focus should not be on how to compete with AI, but rather on how to work alongside it.
Generative AI is capable of writing reports, analyzing data, and creating programs. In manufacturing, AI predicts defects while robots perform tasks. Just as the industrial revolution replaced physical labor with machines, the AI revolution is now penetrating knowledge work, prompting employees to question whether their jobs will survive.
However, the question needs to shift. Instead of asking whether AI will eliminate jobs, the focus should be on how it will change them. AI will not completely replace accountants; however, the productivity gap will widen between accountants who utilize AI and those who do not.
The same applies to factories. The ability to operate machinery will now be complemented by the ability to improve processes using data and AI. The likelihood is that AI will lead to a reorganization of job functions rather than the end of jobs.
At this juncture, the role of the Korea Industrial Human Resources Agency becomes crucial. The agency, which has been responsible for national qualification exams, vocational skills development, and the promotion of skilled technologies, now has the added mission of retraining workers to use AI in their jobs.
This year, the agency has selected ten centers to spread AI training in small businesses. Approximately 500 AI training coaches and dedicated personnel plan to visit 25,000 companies.
Experts will first assess the companies to understand their operations, identify where AI can be applied, and determine the necessary training for employees, starting with the question, "Where should our company use AI?"
This support is particularly essential for small businesses. While large corporations can establish their own AI teams and hire external experts, small businesses with only a few dozen employees often cannot afford to have dedicated AI specialists. Even when CEOs want to implement AI, they frequently do not know where to start. The productivity gap between large and small businesses must not be exacerbated by disparities in AI adoption.
The agency is also opening 20 AI-specialized joint training centers, allowing small and medium-sized enterprises to access the facilities and expertise of large corporations, universities, and research institutions. Training will be tailored to regional industries such as semiconductors, automotive, bio, shipbuilding, and robotics, teaching how to apply AI in actual work settings.
The focus is on practical application rather than theory. In manufacturing, workers need to learn how to predict defects with AI, analyze data to create dashboards, and automate repetitive tasks. The 'Small Business AX On-Site Training' initiative was launched with this awareness.
AI solution companies are visiting small businesses to implement technology and provide employee training simultaneously, aiming to reduce the gap between learning in the classroom and applying knowledge in the workplace.
Cost barriers have also been lowered. The 'Small Business Talent Development Premium Training' program supports over 90% of training costs, with up to 95% for training outside the capital region.
More importantly, the focus is on youth. The agency is launching a new pilot program called 'Youth AI First Career Support,' aimed at helping 750 young people in the AI field gain real work experience for a minimum of one year and up to two years. This initiative seeks to address the paradox of experience, where companies want experienced workers, but young people struggle to gain experience.
AI talent policy should not end with producing graduates in relevant fields. It is essential to provide first-hand experience, facilitate ongoing learning of new technologies after employment, and establish a cycle of education, employment, and retraining as industries evolve.
However, not everyone needs to become an AI developer. Lee emphasized the importance of skilled trades during the International Skills Olympics. The tactile skills of a welder, the ability of a maintenance technician to detect anomalies from subtle vibrations and sounds, and a chef's sensitivity to heat cannot be easily transferred to a manual.
This knowledge is built over years. As Lee Byung-hoon noted, it will take time for AI to replace such tacit skills, and in the meantime, the value of skilled trades may actually increase.
Nevertheless, skilled trades must also evolve. As electric excavators and electric forklifts become widespread, maintenance technicians will need to learn about high-voltage systems. This is why it is crucial for qualification systems to define the necessary competencies and connect them to education and certification.
Some companies are creating thousands of problem banks and validating job competencies through computer-based testing and practical assessments. AI is being used not as a tool that takes away human abilities, but as a means to enhance and evaluate them.
AI also creates new challenges. With the risk of AI devices like smart glasses being used for cheating in national qualification exams, the agency is conducting mock training and reviewing response systems, including signal detectors and CCTV.
In an era where AI is used for teaching and assessment, it is paradoxical that measures must also be taken to prevent cheating using AI. As technology advances, maintaining the fairness and trustworthiness of national qualifications becomes increasingly important.
The agency itself is undergoing transformation. It is pursuing long-term AI transition projects, such as an AI-based digital grading system, and has begun operating the 'HRDK AI Lab' to help employees apply generative AI in their work. While urging the public to learn AI, public institutions cannot continue to operate in outdated ways.
The most important word in the agency's AI transition is 'retraining.' In the past, individuals could work for decades with a single skill learned in school, but now, continuous skill updates throughout one's lifetime are necessary. National talent policies must shift from reactive measures that provide retraining after job loss to proactive policies that facilitate learning of new skills while employed.
Fear alone will not solve anything. We must identify what humans do better than AI, enhance productivity with AI, and create opportunities for retraining whenever new technologies emerge. Ultimately, competitiveness in the AI era will stem from people.
A nation where every worker can learn AI in the workplace, enhance their skilled trades with AI, and receive retraining when needed is the goal of the Korea Industrial Human Resources Agency under Lee Byung-hoon.
Lee Byung-hoon is a scholar who has studied labor markets and labor relations. He graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in sociology and earned a master's and doctoral degree in labor relations from Cornell University in the United States. He served as a professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University and held positions such as chairman of the Public Coexistence Fund and chairman of the Public Institutions Committee of the Economic, Social and Labor Council. He was appointed as the 17th head of the Korea Industrial Human Resources Agency in June 2026, overseeing vocational skills development, national qualifications, and the promotion of skilled technologies.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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