The Employment Permit System (EPS) Nepal office, under the Department of Foreign Employment, has planned to take Computer-Based Test (CBT) of Korean language from March 27. The CBT is targeted towards reentrants for the South Korean job market under EPS. 

The CBT is targeted towards Nepali workers who have already worked in Korea for three years and want to re-enter the country for employment, said officer at EPS-Nepal Gyan Nath Shakal. The office has planned to distribute forms for the test from March 6-8. 

EPS-Nepal has estimated about 500 to 700 to take the exam to join South Korean jobs again. “We don’t know what the exact number of participants will be but we believe it will not be more than 700,” he said. 

According to EPS-Nepal office, candidates who have returned from Korea after January 1, 2010, after working for more than three 

years and are between 18-39 years of age are eligible for the Computer-Based Test. 

Workers who had worked illegally in Korea and those who are prohibited by the Nepali government from travelling abroad are not eligible for re-entry. The Human Resource Department of Korea is planning to conduct the CBT of Korean language every four months. 

South Korea is a lucrative destination for Nepali migrant workers and thousands have shown interest in jobs in the destination. An EPS employee earns about $1,000 (Rs 85,000) in South Korea per month. The earning is more than four times that offered in other popular destinations — Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. 

About 15,000 Nepalis are working in South Korea and 12,500 are EPS employees who reached there since the process began in August 2008. About 32,000 Nepali youths had applied for the first Korean language test in 2008 and the number has been growing every time — about 42,000 in 2010 and 51,000 in 2012. 

South Korea had decided to hire more than 15,000 Nepalis last year but it could not provide jobs to all. 

The country has been hiring from the roster that was created two years back.

Published on: 25 February 2013 | The Himalayan Times.