EPS applications open

Number may cross 70,000 in next three days

The Korean Employment Permit System (EPS) in Nepal received more than 17,000 applications from aspiring candidates on Wednesday, the first day to apply for a Korean language test.

Buddhi Bahadur Khadka, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment, said 17,824 application forms were collected from the five locations—Sano Gaucharan and Siddhartha Banasthali Institute in the Capital, Laboratory Secondary School in Dharan and Nepal Police Training Centre in Butwal.
Khadka said the number of applications is likely to cross 70,000 within the four-day deadline. The EPS office is expecting to select around 8,200 candidates who excel in the two-day examination taking place. It has, however, clarified that success in the test doesn’t guarantee employment in South Korea, but increases chances to be enlisted in the online job rooster based on which employers select candidates.

The office has asked applicants to fill the forms correctly as any mistake will make the exam results null and void and end chances of Korean dream even if they pass the exam. Lee Dong Sirk, human resource director at the EPS Centre, said the format of the language test has been changed from closed questions to open questions. “The examinees will have to prepare hard this time around, as the questions are more tricky and demand better knowledge of the Korean language,” said Lee. He said the new curriculum can be downloaded from the official site of the EPS Centre.

The EPS office said a total of 3,800 individuals have gone to South Korea this year. This year the ceiling is 5,900. Officials have requested the candidates who sail through the language test to undergo a skill test to increase their chances for selection. Those currently on the roster will be replaced by fresh candidates after the new language test is held.  Around 5,000 are still on the roster. Many workers, who did not get picked by employers despite passing the test, are currently up in arms demanding their entry to Korea.

Published on: 22 August 2013 | The Kathmandu Post