Over the past five days, nearly 10,000 people from Nghe An and Ha Tinh have lined up at the Employment Service Center to register for the exam to select workers to go to Korea.
January 30 is the last day Nghe An province accepts registrations for the exam to select workers to go to Korea (abbreviated as EPS). At the provincial employment service center located on Phong Dinh Cang Street, Vinh City, hundreds of people are waiting to complete procedures. Those who registered for the Korean language exam are between 18 and 39 years old, many of whom have worked in Korea. More than 20 staff members of the center were mobilized to work from morning to night.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan, 36 years old, residing in Nghi Loc district, said that because the queue was so long, she had to wait from morning until noon to complete the procedures. 10 minutes after meeting the center staff, declaring her personal information and paying the fee of 28 USD (more than 680,000 VND), she slipped out of the crowd.
"I used to work abroad in Taiwan, earning 20 million VND per month, and just returned home last year. Currently, I have 3 children of school age, my husband and I do not have stable jobs, and our finances are tight, so we want to try to take the EPS exam to go to Korea to work in agriculture to earn money to raise the children," said Ms. Xuan.
Hundreds of people sat in rows at the Nghe An Service Center waiting for their turn to register for the EPS exam, January 30. Photo: Hung Le
Many young people in the mountainous districts of Ky Son, Quy Chau, and Quy Hop also took buses 100-250 km to Vinh City to register for the EPS exam. Many people waited all day for their turn to complete the procedures, had to rent a motel to stay overnight, and come early the next morning to "reserve a spot".
Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, Director of Nghe An Employment Service Center, said that the organization has been accepting applications since January 26. To date, about 6,000 people have registered to take the Korean language test under the EPS program, nearly double the number of 3,700 candidates last year.
"The unit receives documents according to districts and towns. Due to the large number of people coming, there are days when the staff has to work until 11pm to complete the procedures," said Mr. Tuan.
People applying for visas in Nghe An are mainly young people, with an average age of 18-39. Photo: Hung Le
Ha Tinh also accepts applications for the EPS program until January 30. Every day, the Provincial Employment Service Center welcomes hundreds of people to complete procedures. They line up outside the door and are arranged to sit in rooms, waiting for their names to be called in the order shown on the computer screen, so there is no jostling.
Holding his phone to scan the QR code to declare information, Phan Van Long, 30 years old, residing in Huong Son district, said that this morning it was cold and rainy but he still took the bus to Ha Tinh city to register. Long used to work for hire in Laos, with an unstable income, and is now studying Korean to take the EPS exam to go to the "land of kimchi" to work in manufacturing, to earn money to get married later.
"If I am lucky enough to pass the exam and get a good job, I can earn more than 40 million VND per month in Korea. I would have to work hard for 4-5 months to earn this amount of money back home," Long said.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Director of Ha Tinh Employment Service Center, said that more than 3,500 candidates have registered for the exam, double the number of candidates in the same period. The reason is that Nghi Xuan and Cam Xuyen districts had previously stopped recruiting for the EPS program, but now it has reopened, so the number of participants has increased dramatically.
"The EPS exam is scheduled for April. Last year, candidates from the Central region took the exam in Da Nang. This year, we are waiting for the total number of candidates nationwide to finalize the location," said Ms. Huong.
People register for the EPS exam at the Ha Tinh Employment Service Center on January 30. Photo: Hung Le
This year's EPS exam is expected to recruit more than 15,400 workers to work in many industries. Of these, manufacturing will employ more than 11,200 people, construction will employ 200, agriculture will employ nearly 900, and fisheries will employ about 3,000. The agriculture and fisheries sectors will recruit workers from ethnic minorities, residing in one of the 74 poor districts and 54 particularly disadvantaged communes in coastal and island areas in the 2021-2025 period.
The EPS program is unique in that Korean employers will select workers based on randomly introduced profiles without designation, and no one can influence the contract signing process. Therefore, workers who pass two rounds of exams and submit their applications are not certain to be selected to go to Korea, and do not know in advance the departure time. Authorities recommend that candidates who submit their applications should still maintain their normal jobs, and should not stay at home waiting in stress, wasting time.
Nghe An and Ha Tinh have tens of thousands of workers working in Korea, but there are thousands of cases of people escaping to work and residing illegally. Some districts were banned from taking the EPS exam by authorities, such as Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, Cua Lo town (Nghe An) and Cam Xuyen, Nghi Xuan districts (Ha Tinh). On January 9, the Overseas Labor Center issued an official dispatch to temporarily lift the ban, allowing people in 8 districts in Hai Duong, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh to take the exam.
Source link
Comment (0)