Helping Closed Small Business Owners Find New Jobs... Private Training Providers Expand Support

[Financial News]
Private training providers are continuing efforts to help owners of closed small businesses find new jobs. They are helping them redesign their careers and strengthen their job-seeking skills so they can apply experience gained through self-employment to new roles. Government support for small business owners who have closed their businesses is also expanding beyond business closure procedures to help them transition to paid employment.
According to industry sources on the 27th, Geo Coaching, a company specializing in employment support, is recruiting 130 participants for advanced training under the 2026 Hope Return Package Specialized Employment Support program, promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small Enterprise and Market Service.
The Hope Return Package Specialized Employment Support program is a government initiative that helps small business owners who have closed or are preparing to close their businesses find new jobs. It strengthens job-seeking skills through online basic training and in-person advanced training, and connects participants with related support policies, including reemployment incentive allowances and the National Employment Support System (NESS).
Geo Coaching will run a total of eight training classes in Seoul and Gyeonggi this coming November. The training will run for five days.
Participants will reorganize their careers so they can apply experience from their previous businesses to employment, and explore career paths aligned with their work values and aptitudes. The training will also cover job-seeking methods using generative artificial intelligence (AI), analysis of successful job-placement cases, and communication and adjustment to workplace culture required in a new job.
The program will also include hands-on activities such as individual counseling and small-group discussions. After the training, Geo Coaching plans to provide information on jobs and vocational training and help participants connect with related support programs, including NESS.
Geo Coaching’s training is open to small business owners aged 15 to 69 who have closed or are preparing to close their businesses. Spouses who meet certain requirements may also participate.
Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis through November 9. To apply, select the recruitment notice for the Hope Return Package Specialized Employment Advanced Training on the Small Business 24 website, then search for Geo Coaching under recruiting institutions.
Other private training providers are also helping small business owners who have closed their businesses find new jobs.
Clips Career Center, a specialist organization providing career transition support, is running the Hope Return Package Specialized Employment Advanced Training this year. It provides training for small business owners preparing to find new jobs after closing their businesses, covering change management, employment strategy development, résumé writing, interview preparation, and workplace adjustment.
Guro Women’s Resources Development Center has also run the Hope Return Package Specialized Employment Advanced Training. Regional institutions are also supporting reemployment, including by using Gyeonggi Siheung Women’s Resources Development Center as a training venue to help small business owners who have closed their businesses prepare for employment.
With private training providers taking part in reemployment training, small business owners who have closed their businesses can now choose a provider based on factors such as location, training schedules, and program content.
Support for reemployment among small business owners who have closed their businesses is significant because it connects their self-employment experience with new jobs and helps reduce income gaps after closure. However, how often completing the training leads to actual employment and stable workplace integration is expected to be a key measure of the program’s effectiveness going forward.
[email protected] Kim Hyun-chul Reporter