EPS Korean Language Test Will be Held till March 2021:
The Employment Permit System (EPS) language test, which was postponed in 2020 due to Corona, is scheduled to be conducted within the first quarter of 2021. Due to corona infection, it is not possible to take the exam till Manshir (December) this year, so the date of the language exam has been postponed to next year. The language test, which is usually held annually at Chaitra or Baishakh (March / April), was postponed this year due to corona but was eventually canceled because the infection did not stop.
The Department of Foreign Employment, EPS Branch Nepal, has stated that preliminary discussions are underway with a view to speeding up the examination as there will be no language test this year. Indra Gautam, director of the branch, said that since the language test was not scheduled to be held in 2020, discussions were held to hold it by March 2021. "Even if there is a discussion about conducting a language test, an official decision will be made based on the state of the corona infection," said Director Gautam.
Although the Korean government is in favor of taking workers from Nepal and conducting language tests, both countries are in a "wait and see" situation due to the corona infection. Even though the selection process of Nepali workers who are on the roster (qualifying list) is going on in Korea by giving exams and skill exams, entry into Korea has not become easy. Although both countries are positive about the demand and supply of Nepali workers, the transition will resolve the issue of workers going and being tested.
Although corona infection is declining in Korea, the date of language test has not been fixed in Nepal due to increasing infection. According to the branch, the Korean side is understood to have prepared for the 2021 exam. The EPS language test 2012 and 2020, which started in 2008, failed.
Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, 1,701 young people have signed labor agreements with Korean employers, but no workers have been able to enter Korea. Even 961 young people who have obtained visas through labor agreements are still unable to go to Korea. HRD has assured to extend the visa of the expired youth until the employer cancels the labor agreement.
Although Nepali youths have not been able to enter Korea due to the growing corona infection in Nepal, employers have not stopped the demand process. Currently, Korea's Human Resource Development Board has opened the process of demanding foreign workers, so employers have applied to the Labor Office for the process of hiring foreigners.
Although an average of 8,000 Nepali youths go to Korea from Nepal annually, only 1,027 Nepali have gone to Korea for employment in the first nine months of this year, according to the branch. In 2019, 7,136 Nepali went to Korea for employment. So far, 66,872 Nepali, including 4,020 women and 62,852 men, have gone to Korea for employment. Currently, about 31,000 Nepali are working in Korea.
