36,181 youths take Korean Language Test

KATHMANDU, Aug 29: A total of 36,181 Nepali jobseekers have appeared in Korean Language Test (KLT) to qualify themselves for the jobs under Employment Permits System (EPS) of South Korea.

The government had entrusted Tribhuwan University (TU) to conduct the language test for which 28 exam centers were set up in the capital. High-level Nepali and Korean officials had monitored the two-day exam that concluded on Sunday. [break]

A total of 42,050 aspirants had filled the examination forms (41,720 forms were accepted) for the language test in the second week of June. A total of 5,539 applicants remained absent. Of about 32,000 applicants who had appeared in the test on March 29, 2008, only 6,768 had passed the language test.

Sources at Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) informed myrepublica.com that the results of the test would be published on October 10.

The Korean government has allocated 4,000 quotas for Nepali youths, out of the 22,000 quotas set aside for 15 sending countries for 2011.

Keeping in view the huge number of youths vying for Korean jobs, the government has requested the Korean government to increase quotas for Nepali youths under the EPS program that allows local employers to hire foreign workers.

Recognizing Nepal´s effective and fast sending process, the Korean government had honored Nepal in December last year.

Of the 6,400 workers that have signed job contracts with Korean employers, more than 5,300 workers have already left for Korea. Human Resource Department of South Korea has included 6,586 workers in its roster.

Korea has been sourcing workers under EPS from Nepal, Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and East Timor.

Nepal and Korea had signed EPS agreement on July 23, 2007. The Korean government had introduced EPS in 2004.

´Korea positive on increasing job quota´

Nepali officials have renewed the request to increase job quota for Nepali workers under EPS program. They made such a request during a discussion with the high-level delegation of HRD Korea that is on a four-day visit to Nepal to monitor the KLT exam.

“Korean officials are positive on our demand. They have expressed commitments to take up our request to the concerned officials,” said Purna Chandra Bhattarai, spokesperson at MoLTM.

During the meeting, both the sides also discussed on the performance of Nepali workers, need to develop their skills and necessary improvements in orientation training for the jobseekers.