It has been found that companies prefer candidates who hold certifications in electrical and industrial safety the most during the hiring process. In addition, job seekers with mandatory certifications were often offered higher wages, with some positions showing a monthly wage gap of more than 800,000 won depending on whether the applicant had the relevant certification.

According to the report "2025 Fall Employment Issue: Which National Technical Certifications Do Companies Prefer?" published by the Korea Employment Information Service on December 2, a total of 372,926 job postings that registered certification information were submitted to the government-run job portal "Work24" between 2022 and 2025. The registered certifications included 294 types, such as Computer Utilization Level 2, Career Counselor Level 2, Word Processor, and Excavator Operator.

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When submitting a job posting on Work24, companies can list certifications as mandatory requirements if they are legally required or deemed necessary by the company. There were 138,353 job postings that required mandatory certifications, and among these, the top 30 certifications accounted for 117,996 postings.

An analysis of the 138,353 postings that required mandatory certifications showed that, in the engineer and industrial engineer categories, many companies required Electrical Engineer and Electrical Industrial Engineer certifications. The number of postings that listed these certifications as mandatory was 10,323 and 12,082, respectively. There was also strong demand for candidates with certifications such as Architectural Engineer (5,533 postings), Construction Safety Engineer (3,733 postings), and Industrial Safety Engineer (3,444 postings).

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In the technician category, Forklift Operator Technician was the most in demand, with 22,122 postings. Korean Cuisine Cook Technician followed with 20,684 postings.

Looking at the median wages offered in postings that required mandatory certifications, Architectural Engineer, Civil Engineer, and Architectural Industrial Engineer positions offered the highest median wage at 4 million won. The offered wage for Electrical Engineer positions was 2.9 million won, and for Electrical Industrial Engineer positions, it was 2.75 million won.

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For 25 out of the 30 certifications, the offered wage was higher when the certification was listed as mandatory. In particular, when the Architectural Industrial Engineer certification was required, the offered monthly wage was about 880,000 won higher than when it was not required, marking the largest gap among all certifications.

The report stated, "An analysis of the wages offered by companies for each certification shows that when a certification is designated as mandatory, the median wage offered is generally higher than for positions where it is not required. This reflects the fact that having certified technical personnel directly contributes to a company's productivity and safety."