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VIENTIANE, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Some 500 Lao nationals will be selected to work in South Korea in 2017 if they can pass a test called the Employment Point System, including EPS-TOPIK, skills test and competency test.
The skills test will be administrated by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea) in collaboration with the Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in Vientiane on April 3-28, according to Khamsene Xayavong, Director of the Ministry's Lao Employment Service Center (ESC) on Monday.
Following the agreement, HRD Korea will set the standards for the tests and confirm them with the ESC if necessary. The number of applicants can be decided through prior consultation between both sides.
"We will partner with HRD Korea to give the tests and will select skilled people to go to the Republic of Korea to work in small and medium enterprises and in agriculture. The exact numbers will be further discussed," he said on Lao state-run Vientiane Times.
The results of the tests will be announced on May 12, after which qualified skilled applicants will be sent to work in factories in the Republic of Korea. The official said the selected candidates would be able to work in the Republic of Korea legally for almost five years and will return to Laos after the end of their contracts.
Sending skilled workers to South Korea is part of the Service Commitment Agreement signed in 2016 by officials from the two countries. Another objective of the agreement is to establish a viable framework for cooperation between the two parties and to enhance transparency and efficiency in the process of sending and receiving Lao workers by setting out the relevant provisions under the Employment Permit System.
In 2015, Laos sent as many as 50,712 laborers to work oversears, including 27,176 women, according to official statistics. Most of these workers obtained jobs in Thailand, said the ministry. Enditem
