Worker quota to Korea increased to 8,000 this year: Minister

Even though Sri Lanka had received a quota of 6,500 jobs in Korea, the Korean Human Resources Department has permitted the recruitment of 8,000 workers for this year, Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said.

The decision was announced following a meeting held this morning with the Korean Human Resources Development Director and the Minister.

It has also been agreed to refer 600 persons who are currently searching for jobs on the website after passing the Korean language proficiency test and who are looking for jobs in the manufacturing sector that will expire on December 31 of this year and also for jobs in the ship construction industry.

Accordingly, new recruitments will be made for the ship construction industry while altering the industrial sector.

The minister requested that candidates who wish to change their job category to apply for the ship construction industry.

The Korean Human Resources Department has also agreed to conduct examinations for jobs in the shipbuilding industry under the E9 visa category starting next year and recruit 900 welders and painters.

The Director of the Korean Human Resources Department also informed the Minister that the Korean Language Proficiency Test will be conducted using the UBT method from next year, instead of the current computer-based CBT method. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)