South Korea, a lucrative job destination for Nepali youths, has reduced the demand for Nepali workers to 7,000 for 2012. Earlier, the destination had assured to hire 15,000 workers. Human Resource Department of South Korea has informed the Employment Permit System (EPS) Nepal about the changes.

“South Korea will hire 7,000 Nepalis in 2012 and the remaining the next year,” said director at Employment Permit System Nepal under the Department of Foreign Employment Mahesh Acharya. According to him, South Korea will also not conduct the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) in fiscal year 2012-13.

“As the demand has been reduced from 15,000 to 7,000, South Korea will not conduct TOPIK in the coming fiscal year,” he said.

“Test of Proficiency in Korean will be next conducted in fiscal year 2013-14.” South Korea has informed about the reduction in demand without mentioning the reasons behind it. However, it has assured to offer jobs to all people on the job roster created in December 2011.

“According to the South Korean plan, about 8,000 Nepalis will get a chance to join foreign jobs a year later,” he said. Human Resource Department of South Korea had conducted Test of Proficiency in Korean in June 2011 for 7,000 jobs, which increased to 15,000 in August last year citing a large demand for Nepali workers.

About 57,000 Nepalis aged between 18-39 years have participated in the EPS process and 51,000

have appeared for the language test. Nepali youths prefer South Korean jobs as they are cheaper to join and offer earnings that are five times more than other popular destinations — Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The monthly earning of an Employment Permit System worker is around $ 1,000 (Rs 82,000) while Gulf countries and Malaysia offer below $ 200 (Rs 16,400).

EPS workers invest around Rs 79,540 for the whole process — Test of Proficiency in Korean application, medical check up, orientation and air ticket. Investment for jobs in Malaysia and Gulf countries for a worker is Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000 respectively.

The government’s inability of creating jobs back at home has fuelled the outflow of the Nepalis youths to the South Korea as the destination is more lucrative.

277 more leave for Seoul

The new batch of 277 Employment Permit System job aspirants will reach Seoul on Monday. According to Employment Permit System Nepal, the destination has hired about 436 Nepalis in Baisakh -from the beginning of Nepali New Year.

Workers joining South Korean jobs from Monday will work in manufacturing, agriculture and fisheries. Currently, about 8,000 Employment Permit System workers are in South Korea.

Published on: 24 April 2012 | The Himalayan Times