'Forklift Operator, Construction Engineer, Korean Cuisine Chef'... Rising in the Job Market

Industrial Manpower Corporation Releases Utilization Status of National Technical Qualifications by Category

Job Counselors (Level 2) Popular in Large Companies with Over 300 Employees
Carbon Neutrality Drives Rapid Rise in Demand for Air Environment Engineers

High Number of Job Openings Requiring National Technical Qualifications in Manufacturing and Construction

Soil and Foundation Engineers Earn Highest Salary at 4.27 Million KRW per Month

On March 31, at the Korea Cold Storage Logistics Center in Oseong-myeon, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, officials moved an additional 500,000 doses of vaccines secured through a direct contract with Pfizer into the warehouse using a forklift. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The forklift operator certification has emerged as the most popular qualification in the job market. Certifications such as architect engineer and Korean cuisine cook technician were also highly favored.

The Human Resources Development Service of Korea announced on the 5th the results of an analysis of job postings from the past three years (2018-2020) on Worknet, a job support website. Approximately 225,000 job postings listed national technical qualifications as either a hiring requirement or a preference.

The national technical qualification most frequently cited in job postings was the forklift operator certification. Following it were architect engineer, Korean cuisine cook technician, electrical engineer, and civil engineer. The construction and electrical fields ranked high, indicating that certifications are essential in these industries. The top eight certifications maintained stable popularity in the job market with no changes in ranking.

The air environment engineer certification saw a sharp rise in popularity, climbing from 24th place in 2018 to 13th last year, reflecting industrial trends such as carbon neutrality. The job counselor (Level 2) certification postings increased by 20% last year. Companies seeking individuals with information and communication technology (IT) and office automation (OA) skills, such as computer utilization ability (Level 2), information processing engineer, and web design technician, also showed an upward trend.

The industries with the highest number of job postings requiring national technical qualifications were manufacturing, construction, and professional, scientific, and technical services. These sectors often mandate the employment of individuals holding national technical certifications by law.

Notably, among large companies with over 300 employees, the job counselor (Level 2) certification ranked second after the forklift operator certification. The larger the company, the more preferred these certifications were.

The certifications offering the highest wages at the hiring stage were soil and foundation engineer (4.27 million KRW/month), water quality management engineer (3.86 million KRW/month), architectural structure engineer (3.64 million KRW/month), and construction safety engineer (3.49 million KRW/month). These certifications require a high level of expertise.

Oh Soo-bong, Director of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, stated, "This analysis allows us to understand which certifications companies are seeking," adding, "We plan to provide diverse employment information utilizing this data."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.