Gwangju Nam-gu Supports Exam Fees for Youth Certification Acquisition

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, supports exam fees up to 200,000 KRW for various certifications to enhance the employment competitiveness of young job seekers and help them enter society.

On the 9th, Nam-gu announced that amid severe employment difficulties, the increase in exam fees for various certifications needed for job seeking has added to the burden on young people, and from this year, a new project will support these exam fees.

The Youth Certification Acquisition Support Project is one of the detailed pledge projects in the job creation sector under Mayor Kim Byeong-nae’s 8th term.

The reason for promoting this project is that young people place the greatest emphasis on preparing for language tests and certification acquisition during their job preparation process.

According to the “COVID-19 and Youth Labor Status Report” released by the Presidential Committee on Economic, Social and Labor Affairs in October 2020, the largest portion of youth job-seeking activities was preparation for language and certification exams (59.9%).

Next were activities directly related to employment such as submitting resumes and interviews (38.3%), followed by preparation for civil service exams or professional certification exams (23.2%).

Accordingly, Nam-gu is investing a budget of 50 million KRW this year to support the actual exam fees for language and certification acquisition once per person. The maximum support amount is 200,000 KRW.

The support targets unemployed youth aged 19 to 45 residing in Nam-gu.

For language tests, the supported exams include 11 types: TOEIC, TOEIC Speaking, TOEFL, IELTS, OPIc, TEPS, G-TELP, FLEX, HSK, JPT, and JLPT. Certifications include 544 types of job fields and categories under the Korea Industrial Human Resources Corporation according to the Enforcement Rules of the National Technical Qualifications Act, as well as the Korean History Proficiency Test.

Youth who wish to receive exam fee support must fill out an application form and submit it via email or visit the Job Policy Division on the 6th floor of Nam-gu Office.

A Nam-gu official stated, “We will do our best to implement the certification acquisition support project to address the needs of local young job seekers and help them overcome the narrow employment gate.”