The average care worker is over 60 years old... "Need to introduce foreign manpower in stages"

The Immigration Policy Institute analyzed the foreign workforce policy in the field of child and elderly care from 2022 to 2025 and made this recommendation in the policy report ‘Status and Issues of Introduction of Foreign Workers in Care Services’ published on the 5th.

As the domestic care service field continues to experience a manpower shortage and the average age of workers exceeds 60, it has been suggested that the gradual introduction of foreign care workers is necessary.

According to the report, the average age of care workers was 60.4 years for elderly care workers and 63.1 years for housekeepers, all over 60 years old. In particular, about 66% of elderly care workers were in their 60s or older.

In the field of elderly care, the rate of actually working in the field despite obtaining nursing care caregiver qualifications was found to be low.

As of 2024, among the 2,875,159 people who obtained nursing care worker qualifications, the actual number of workers was 657,104, with an employment rate of only about 23%. Among the 22,766 foreigners who obtained qualifications, 6,644 people were actually employed, leaving the employment rate at about 29%.

The report pointed out, “It is difficult to expect to resolve the manpower shortage simply by expanding the number of qualified people,” and “It is more important to improve working conditions and residential conditions where people can actually work and stay for a long time than to expand the number of qualified people.”

In the field of child care, an analysis showed that rather than deploying foreign workers to provide care all day, it should be introduced according to the time of day and usage method when demand is concentrated.

In a survey conducted by researchers, only 1.6% of parents of infants and 1.8% of parents of infants responded that full-day care by a foreign childcare assistant was appropriate.

The researchers especially emphasized that qualifications, education, and management systems, labor rights, and social acceptance must be secured prior to introducing foreign care workers.

Specifically, it proposed identity verification and criminal background checks, Korean language education, registration system and standard employment contract, guarantee of basic labor rights, and multicultural acceptance training for users and employers.

Regarding the method of introduction, it was suggested that in the case of elderly care, it is necessary to introduce it in stages, focusing on facilities that can be managed while improving treatment, and initially consider placing two people in a team with a domestic caregiver.