The final screenings of Nepali applicants for South Korean jobs has started, with more than 3,000 being approved under the Employment Permit System (EPS) for 2018, the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has said.

 

The EPS Korea Section under the DoFE, which oversees the recruitment procedures of Nepalis for jobs in South Korea, said on Monday that it had submitted online the employment application forms of aspirant Nepali workers who have passed the Test of Proficiency in Korean Language.

 

More than 3,000 job applications of Nepalis have already been approved, said Shobhakar Bhandari, section officer at the EPS Korea Section. “We have completed filling out the job application forms with all the required documents of the candidates who passed the test in 2017 for employment opportunity in 2018. Now, the South Korean authority will select workers from the list,” he added.

 

A total of 11,876 Nepalis had applied online for South Korean jobs for 2018 based on the roster prepared by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea.

 

“Over 3,000 applicants from Nepal have been approved by the South Korean authority, with at least three Nepalis already being selected for job in 2018 marking the formal beginning of process for this year,” Bhandari explained.

 

Applications of nearly 50 Nepali candidates were rejected after the details they submitted during the language test and job application process did not match.

 

“The South Korean authority precisely matches photo of the applicant, spelling of the name and date of birth. They had returned some application forms with minor typos for further verification,” said Bhandari.

 

The EPS section estimates that the number of confirmation of visa issuance (CCVI) from the South Korean government would go up to nearly 4,500 by mid-February.

 

“South Korea will start issuing visas after the employers concerned complete all the formalities on behalf of the candidates from the list we have sent to the HRD office,” said Bhandari. Once the visa is issued, the EPS section will put up the information about the successful candidates and their respective departure dates on its website.

 

A total of 75,580 had registered online for the language test in 2017, but only 68,000 candidates sat the examination in June last year.

 

Although the South Korean government had fixed the passing ceiling at 10,200 for 2018, a total of 12,108 candidates passed the test, which is mandatory for seeking jobs in South Korea. Among the successful candidates, 7,578 passed the test under the agriculture sector and 4,530 under the manufacturing sector.

 

“The passing ceiling for is not equal to the job quota for the year. This only means they have increased the number of candidates passing the language test. Not all of them will be getting jobs,” clarified section officer Bhandari, adding, however, approximately 90 per cent of those clearing the test have been getting jobs, which also depend upon labour market of South Korea and performance of Nepali workers.

 

In 2017, the South Korean government had sought 3,100 Nepali workers, but 3,517 applicants had passed the language test.

 

According to the DoFE, a total of 50,198 Nepalis reached South Korea by December 2017.