Job competency over TOEIC scores State-run enterprises to hire rookies on job competency test

By Yoon Ja-young

Forget TOEIC scores or other writing tests, state-run enterprises will be hiring rookies based on their job competency rather than test scores unrelated to the job.

The government and 130 state-run enterprises signed an MOU, Tuesday, to overhaul their hiring requirements. The companies decided to adopt National Competency Standards (NCS), an employment system set up by the government.

The measure comes amid increasing concern that jobseekers are wasting too much time and effort building up so-called “spec” skills to get a decent job. Spec, or short for specification, refers to a list of achievements and certifications such as high TOEIC scores, internships and other social experience. Young jobseekers have been hugely focused on building up high spec to impress potential employers.

However, this is regarded by many as a waste of time and effort as these high specs don’t necessarily have a lot to do with their job skills.

“Though jobseekers spend a lot of time and money studying for high English scores and diverse certificates, often they don’t have to do with the job they are applying for. Businesses have been complaining that the newly hired aren’t prepared for the job and need special training,” Strategy and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said.

He said the government developed the NCS to narrow such gaps. “A total of 130 state-run enterprises will hire 3,000 people based on the NCS,” he said.

The NCS defines how much knowledge and skill are required to work in a certain industry and then evaluates them. It is categorized into 24 industries, ranging from finance and insurance and business administration and accounting to healthcare and medical services. They have sub-categories so that companies can measure skills. For instance, an NCS on hospitality has subcategories such as hospitality planning, room management, management of other facilities, banquet management, and customer service.

It then evaluates the competency of the applicant. For instance, those evaluated to be at the highest level in accounting have the most accounting and auditing skills.

Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation hired 93 employees based on the NCS last year. Previously, the jobseekers submitted diplomas, certificates, and English scores, but now they only hand in a job application reflecting their job competency. The written test also aims at evaluating their job competency while previously they had a test on economics, business administration, etc.

“It helped us pick the person with the competence to work in the field right away,” a spokesperson for the Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation said.

“Though we shortened the official training session on rookies to two weeks from four weeks, they are quickly adapting to their work in the field as if they had job experience before,” he said.

He added that the rookies also seem to be immersed in the work as none of them have quit so far. An employee who succeeded in getting a job at the company said he had applied to Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation twice, but failed due to his lack of spec. “After they adopted NCS, they acknowledged my knowledge in the field of surveying and hired me,” he said.

A total of 130 state-run enterprises, including Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corporation, will be hiring 3,000 rookies this year based on NCS.

More information on the NCS is available at www.ncs.go.kr.