The Development of a National Certificate on the Basic Competencies for Korean Workers

- AASVET Meeting: Asian Session -- AASVET Meeting: Asian Session -INAP ConferenceINAP Conference

* Seung-IL Na ∙ **Jeong-Yoon Cho ∙ * Hyun-Jin Jang ∙ * Hee-Jin Sung

*Vocational Education and Workforce Development Program, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, South Korea**Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training, 46 Samseong-ro,

147gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-949, South Korea

* Seung-IL Na ∙ **Jeong-Yoon Cho ∙ * Hyun-Jin Jang ∙ * Hee-Jin Sung

*Vocational Education and Workforce Development Program, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, South Korea**Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training, 46 Samseong-ro,

147gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-949, South Korea

May 26th, 2011May 26th, 2011May 26th, 2011May 26th, 2011

IntroductionIntroduction

MethodsMethods

ResultsResults

ConclusionsConclusions

ImplicationsImplications

Seoul National Univ. Seung-Il Na

c Background

3

I. Introduction

Skill mismatch problem

- Youth unemployment rate : 8.5%(Statistics Office, 2011)- Workforce vacancy rate of companies : 17.6%(Ministry of Labor, 2009)

To Recruit and Retrain Cost for Basic Competencies are High

- Recruiting cost of each applicant required 1 million 150 thousand KRW(1,150$)- Retraining time of new employees takes 19.5 month- Retraining cost of each new employees required 60 million KRW(60 thousand $)

Seoul National Univ. Seung-Il Na 4

I. Introduction

• No certificate to assess the entire domain of basic competencies

• Assessment the basic competencies are not eligible

in National Technical Qualification system in Korea

• NTQ Act scope has been included a section on basic skills in Article 8-2

Needs for the Basic competencies Certificate in KoreaNeeds for the Basic competencies Certificate in Korea

The new installation needs be reviewed with focus on the necessity of

certificate new installation, the validity in industrial fields, and plan for

assessment and execution in consideration of relevant legal

requirements

• Assessing the basic competencies as a governmental requirement

• Assessment-based certificate on basic competencies (e.g., GWRC in U.S.A)

• Course-based certificate on basic competencies (e.g., FSQ & WSQ in the U.K.,

NCES in New Zealand, Employment skills in Australia)

Assessment the Basic Competencies in Advanced CountriesAssessment the Basic Competencies in Advanced Countries


Methods(1)

5

II. Method

Literature Review

- Reviews previous studies on the basic competencies qualification and websites in Korea and other countries

Survey of Industrial Needs

- Population : Member companies of Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry- Sampling : 400 companies were sampled randomly among 1,065 member

companies of Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Benchmark of Overseas Case

- Countries : U.S., Australia, New Zealand, U.K., Japan- On-site survey for Australia and New Zealand- Expert invitation and local expert’s investigation for U.S cases


Methods(2)

6

II. Method

Expert Consultation

- Three session of expert consultation have been exequted for validity of this study- Panel: Vocational Experts, Qualification Experts, Vocational High school Teachers

Public Hearing

- One session of public hearing for validity of the plan proposed in this study- Modified and supplemented newly installing basic competencies assessment plan


Industries’ Needs for the Certification(1)

7

III. Results

Objective identification of applicant’s basic competencies

Usefulness of assessment on the basic competencies

※ Over half of companies answered that

objective identification of applicant’s

basic competencies in hiring process is

difficult

※ Most of companies answered that the

assessment of basic competencies is

useful to their company


Industries’ Needs for the Certification(2)

8

III. Results

Intention to Use Certificate on Basic Competencies

※ Most of companies answered that they

will reflect basic competencies certificate

in hiring process

Need for the Level and Output of the Certificate

※ 85.6%(39.8% + 45.8%) of companies

want to be provided multiple level(three

level) certificate

※ Also, 54.3%(39.8% + 14.5%) of

companies need raw score

Ratio

①Multiple Level+ Raw Score

②Multiple Level ③Raw Score


Overseas Cases for Benchmarking

9

III. Results

Classification U. S. A. U. K. Austrailia New Zealand Japan

QualificationName

Georgia Work Ready Certificate

Functional Skills Qualification

Wider Key Skills Qualification

Employability SkillsNational Certificate in

Employment SkillsYES-Program

QualificationType

One Certificate Modular qualification -One Certificate

(training course)-

Assessment Type

Assessment based certificate

Course based certificate Course based certificate Course based certificateCourse based

certificate

Level

∙Platinum level∙Gold level∙Silver level∙Bronze level

∙Level 2∙Level 1∙Entry 2∙Entry 1

∙Level 4∙Level 3∙Level 2∙Level 1

∙Advanced Diploma∙Diploma∙Certificate Ⅳ∙Certificate Ⅲ∙Certificate Ⅱ∙Certificate Ⅰ

Pass/Fail

∙College level Program

∙High School level Program

AssessmentMethod

∙Paper and Pencil test∙Computer based certificate

∙Portfolio∙Paper and Pencil test∙Task-based assessment

∙Paper and Pencil test∙Portfolio

∙Task-based assessment∙Evidence-based assessment

∙Paper and Pencil test∙Task-based assessment

Management Institute

Governor's Office of Workforce Development

Qualifications and Curriculum Development Authority

National Quality Council New Zealand

Qualification Authority

Ministry of Labor

Assessment Institutes

Technical College System of Georgia, etc.

School, College, Training institutes, etc

RTO(Registered Training Organization)

Registered Educational Institutes

Related Project

∙Job Profiling∙Certificated work ready community

∙work ready region∙work ready sub business

- - - -


The Purpose of the Basic Competencies Certificate

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III. Results

To provide objective signal on the level of employment skills required for job seekers as an holistic assessment

Through the certificate related with other business policies, pursue advancement of the national human resource development system

Assessment of

Employment Skills

Certificate

Identifies the skills required for company(Job Profiling)

Vocational training to enhance employability skills

Building employment DBfor future-oriented workforce S/D

Mediating project between job seekers and employers

Advancement ofAdvancement ofNational HRDNational HRD


Name and Type of the Certificate

11

III. Results

Name Employment Skills Certificate

Service field certificate as a common skills of all occupations according to Article 8-2 of National Technical Qualification Act

Type

National Technical Qualification

Skills & Technology Field

Service FieldEmployment Skills

Certificate


Assessment Domains and Methods of the Certificate

12

III. Results

AssessmentDomains Composed three dimensions

Common Skills-Common skills required all industrial fields-Related to communication, numeric, and IT skills

Industry-Specific Skills

-Differential skills according to the industrial fields-Related to organizational adjustment, resource management etc.

Industry-Specific Traits

-Differential skills according to the industrial fields-Related to work ethics, self-management, and interpersonal skills

AssessmentMethods

Paper & Pencil test, or CBT

Future research are required - To develop assessment criteria- To develop assessment items


Levels and Components of the Certification

13

III. Results

Level Pass Criteria

Level 1 ◦ Over 270 in 300 (Score over 90%)



※ Three assessment domain × 100 point by each assessment score = Total 300 point

※ Fail if lower than 40point at each assessment domain

Components of the Certification

Name of certificate

Certificate level , Total score, Percentile

Level and score of each assessment domain

Name of assessment and management institutions

Certificatelevels


Applicants and Fee of the Certificate

14

III. Results

ApplicantsJob seekers, and Employment applicant and workers seeking for job competencies improvement of job competencies

No restriction is imposed in the application

ApplicationFee

Determined in consideration of the number of applicants, the cost of problem development and assessment

According to the mid-long term cost-benefit analysis

Partial support of application fee by government should be considered


Management and Operation System of the Certificate

15

III. Results

Assessment of Employment skills

Certificate

(Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry)


Conclusions

16

IV. Conclusions

The objective assessment of basic competencies is necessary to

solve the workforce supply and demand mismatch problem of Korea

for the individual workers and employers.

This certificate, which serves as signal to represent the objective

basic competencies level of job seekers, is anticipated to solve skill

mismatch.

To that end, an Employment Skills Certificate is necessary newly

proposed based on the National Technical Qualification Act.


Implications

17

V. Implications

It is necessary to actively review the new installation of qualification

system to objectively represent the basic and common competencies

level required for all the job seekers

This certificate will help solve the problem that National Technical

Qualifications have been assessed only on occupational competencies, and

improve the utility of qualification.

In particular, Asian countries also are required to review adopt basic

competencies certificate in consideration of the circumstance that assessment

of basic competencies is increasingly important to evaluate basic capability in

executing works and adapt in rapidly changing environment in globalized

society.

Documents

The Development of a National Certificate on the Basic Competencies for Korean Workers