Abstract
A Scheme to Improve the Utilization of V ocational Qualification
that, statistically, certificate holders stan d a better chance of gettin g jobs than non-holders. Vocational qu alification exerted a 6.6% w eight on the w age frame (7.7% when selective bias w as considered), show in g the positive effect of vocational qu alification on higher w ages.
Secon d, since the vocational qu alification system is influ enced by a variety of social environmental factors, i.e. types of the labor sector, human resources management, an d labor/ management relations, the utilization of vocational qu alification based on such factors w as analyzed . The typ es of human resources management in Korea are chan gin g in line with the flexibility of the labor market, formin g a new set of p aradigm . In employin g new w orkers, how ever, "good personality an d hard w ork "
still ranked as the top priority (37.6%) follow ed by "professional expertise (30.6%)" an d "fun damental job skills (28.2%)." Un doubtedly, professional expertise w as thou ght to be the most imp ortant factor in the IT sector (60%), while in du stries involvin g machinery attached the greatest imp ortance (90%) to "personality, in du striousness, an d fun damental job skills" in employment.
Third, survey on how extensively the vocational qu alification is utilized within a comp any show ed that the correlation betw een vocational qu alification an d human resources management varied significantly depen din g on the typ es of in dustries. The correlation show s that vocational qualification is more of a factor in the IT sector, which is an externalized labor sector (duty-oriented HRM), than in machinery in du stries, which are internalized labor sectors (function-oriented HRM).
This is due to the fact that machinery-han dlin g vocational qu alification is not geared tow ard any specific function required by a certain company an d w orkers show a low er level of job satisfaction than those in the IT sector . In the IT sector, private an d foreign vocational qualification certificates afford w orkers a higher level of satisfaction an d a better
chance of employment than government-issued certificates.
Fourth, the vocational qu alification system is influ enced by the type of in du stry an d human resources management. The more the labor market is internalized, the more importance is attached to intra-company vocational qu alification . Deman d for intra-company vocational qu alification is higher in the machinery sector than in the IT sector. Functional vocational qu alification show s a similar pattern .
Fifth, case stu dies on intra-company vocational qualification certificates recognized by the Labor Ministry show that government-issu ed certificates are outw eighed by intra-comp any certificates in importance. The vocational qu alification also matched job functions. In personnel management an d performance gradin g, intra-company certificates are more prevalent than government-issu ed national certificates in terms of w idespread utilization . The intra-comp any certification system has p ositive effects not only on improvin g company productivity but also on p ersonnel management an d healthy labor-management relations.
Prop osal f or Improv ements on V ocational Qualification System
First, in in du stries where the labor market is relatively internalized, existin g vocational qualification w as not fully utilized an d deman d for intra-comp any vocational qu alification w as relatively high . In such market types, intra-comp any vocational qualification should be encouraged an d, in order to improve the qu ality management of intra-comp any vocational qu alification, existin g Labor Ministry's review criteria for recognizin g intra-comp any vocational qu alification an d related procedures need to be sp ecified .
Secon d, in in du stries where the labor market is relatively externalized, widely recognized duty-oriented vocational qu alification that are
appropriate across the labor market, rather than intra-company vocational qu alification, w ould be preferable an d it w ould reduce the transactional cost required for certification . To facilitate the application of such vocational qualification in the labor market, a client-oriented vocational qu alification system needs to be introduced an d the entire in dustry an d the labor sector should actively p articip ate in adoptin g the system . This calls for an establishment of vocational qu alification certifyin g body operated by a representative employers' association of each sector .
Third, for widespread acceptance an d utilization of vocational qu alification (national/ private), each vocational qu alification item needs to be evalu ated on the basis of its utilization an d productivity . To this en d, a systematic vocational qualification database needs to be established .
Fourth, one of the reasons the existin g vocational qu alification system is not meetin g the deman d of the in du stry an d show s a low level of utilization is that the exp erience factor is not inclu ded in issuin g vocational qualification an d applicants are not exp osed to han ds-on trainin g in modernized facilities. This requires stren gthenin g on-the-job trainin g in the existin g vocational qu alification certification . On the other han d, in order to improve job performance of w orkers on a continu ous basis an d to operate a vocational qualification system that rew ards such improvements, a vocational qualification system designed for incumbent w orkers need to be established an d stren gthened . Comp anies themselves should boost their investments in trainin g programs an d bolster intra-comp any human resources development programs. For this to occur, a corp orate culture that supp orts technological policies an d stresses improvin g technological skills needs to be created . Furthermore, an establishment of human resources management programs geared to helpin g w orkers to fulfil their talent w ould ensure both the progress of talented w orkers an d the growth of the company .