ACCREDITATION OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN KOREA
Prepared by:
Mr. Young-II Cho Director of International Cooperation Department HRD Korea
LEGAL BASIS
Act on Vocational Education and Training Promotion
Enacted in 1997 aiming at providing citizens with various vocational education and training(VET) opportunities tailored to their needs and aptitudes and enhancing efficiency and quality of VET.
Prescribes that the State and local governments shall make efforts to expand VET facilities and carry out training activities.
Prescribes that the State and local governments shall assess VET institutions and make pubic assessment results and VET-elated information
Prescribes that, pertaining to the assessment of VET institutions, assessment shall be conducted every five years encompassing the following items:
VET equipment and facilities
VET teaching faculty and administrative staffs
Management of trainees
Career guidance and job placement for trainees
Employers’ satisfaction with trainees
School-Industry cooperation and partnership
Information handling and health and welfare facilities
Act on Vocational Training Promotion for Workers
Enacted in 1997 aiming at helping workers develop and exert their vocational competency to the maximum, promoting the employment of workers, enhancing the productivity of enterprises and contributing to the economic and social development of the nation
Prescribes that the Minister of Labor shall devise such measures as the following in order to facilitate vocational competency development of workers
installation and operation of VET facilities
establishment of training standards(on training objectives, curricula, facilities, equipment and instructors etc.) for systematic training
compilation and dissemination of textbooks
cultivation of vocational competency development training instructors
support for those who conduct vocational competency development training
support for trainees who participate in vocational competency development training
promotion of international cooperation related to vocational competency development training
* Training costs for job transfer training for the unemployed and skills upgrade training for incumbent workers shall be subsidized by the Employment Insurance Fund. Prescribes that an employer shall make efforts to install and operate training facilities in order to develop and improve vocational competency of workers
Prescribes that, in case where a person other than the State desires to establish and operate a nonprofit making corporation to conduct vocational competency development activities, he/she shall obtain the permission of the Minister of Labor.
Prescribes that the Minister of Labor may provide loans or support expenses required for installation and operation of the pertinent training facilities and courses. Training institutions that wish to receive the financial support such as training expenses or loans shall be recognized and designated by the Minister of Labor as stipulated in training standards(in case of violation of standards and laws, recognition and designation may be cancelled.)
The Minister of Labor may order vocational competency development training entities carrying out training programs for the unemployed and incumbent workers entrusted by the government or other recognized/designated institutions to submit and report necessary documents.
The Minister of Labor may evaluate training institutions or training courses supported by the Minister of Labor about the matters described below and publicize the results of the evaluation in order to improve the quality of the vocational competency development training.
matters concerning facilities, equipment and instructors
matters concerning operation of training courses
matters concerning the management of trainees including job placement
matters concerning links between training institutions and industries etc.
* The Minister of Labor may differentiate the support and loans for training expenses in accordance with the results of evaluation.
VOCATIONAL COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT TRAINING INSTITUTIONS AT A GLANCE (as of July 2005)
Public Vocational Training Institutions(52)
Human Resources Development Service of Korea
Vocational Training Institute: 21
Polytechnic College: 23
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Human Resources Development Institute: 8
Private Vocational Training Institutions(3,516)
Vocational Competency Development Training Corporation : 63
Career Development Center for Women : 51
Vocational Training Institution recognized by MOL: 627
Other non-recognized Institution: 2775
ASSESSMENT (EVALUATION) OBJECTIVES
To cultivate training market in a fair and sound manner
To create an environment where training institutions enhance training quality voluntarily
To induce free competition among training institutions
To widen the right of choice for those in need of vocational training
To maximize efficiency of pertinent policies by establishing support system connected to evaluation
Administrative and financial support can be differentiated in accordance with evaluation results.
HISTORY OF ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
Preparation of legal basis by formulating relevant law in 1997
Pilot assessment into institutions and courses of training institutions providing training for the unemployed in 1999
Expansion of pilot assessment into various training programs including training for incumbent workers, training entrusted by the government and training for the unemployed from 2001 to 2002
Development of assessment criteria, methodology, assessing personnel and relevant data along with benchmarking overseas best practices over the pilot assessment period
Introduction of disciplinary measures that lowest-scored institutions are excluded from the beneficiaries of government support starting from 2003
Since 2004, assessment of in-house training institutions and that of distance training institutions have been carried out separately : assessment of in-house training institutions has been conducted by HRD Korea and assessment of distance training by Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training(KRIVET)
Assessment of in-house training institutions : HRD Korea
Assessment of distance training institutions : KRIVET
ASSESSMENT ORGANIZATION
Organizational Structure
Constitution of Assessment Committee
Recruitment of candidates with accumulated work experiences in administration, education and instruction in relation to vocational training on the Internet
Those who have run vocational training institution for 3 years or more
Those who have 10 years or more work experience in vocational education and training sector
(Selection Committee for Assessors) determines final assessors through fair and transparent screening taking into account institutions, training courses, regions subject to assessment etc.
Selection Committee is composed of 1 vocational training expert, 1 administrator responsible for vocational training in MOL office and more than 3 training curriculum experts. (curriculum experts who have teaching experience in vocational education and training institutions preferred)
ASSESSMENT ELEMENTS
Training Programs subject to Assessment
Regular Training Program: training programs determined by vocational training standards ( 3-6month & 1 or 2-year programs)
Training Program for the unemployed: MOL entrusts this program designed for employment of the jobless to vocational training institutions. The Employment Insurance Fund covers training expenses.
Government-commissioned training program: For the 15-year-old or more unemployed or students of the third grade of technical high schools, who do not get into higher education, the Minister of Labor designates a training institution and supports training expenses.
Skills Upgrade Training for Incumbent Workers: Aimed at upgrading vocational competency of workers, employers report the number of employees to be trained to the Ministry of Labor and training costs are supported by the Employment Insurance Fund.
Distance(Telecommunication) Training Program: Designed for providing better accessibility to vocational training for the unemployed or incumbent workers who have difficulty attending vocational training institutions, training courses are delivered on the Internet or mailing services.
Assessment Criteria (a sample of an institution assessment)
Category
Item
Score
Criteria
Vision and Strategies of Institutional Operation
Vision and strategy of institutional operation
2
Evaluate if vision, strategy and action plan for training courses are properly set up and realized accordingly
Investment plan and current status
3
Feasibility of mid & long-term investment plans and current status of investment
Facilities and Equipment
Training facilities
10
Evaluate if training facilities are properly secured, utilized and managed for training
Training equipment
10
Evaluate if institution is equipment with necessary equipment that catches up with the needs of industries.
Staffing
Organizational System
3
Evaluate if the institution is well organized and managed in accordance with objectives of training for the unemployed
Possession of professional experts
6
Evaluate if the institution is equipped with qualified teaching and administrative staffs.
Competency development and career management
6
Evaluate if competency development and career management of staffs are systematically performed.
Management of Trainees
Recruitment of trainees
5
Evaluate if information on trainee recruitment process and employment is properly provided
Counseling and efforts to prevent drop-out
5
Evaluate if counseling and efforts to prevent drop-out are systematically carried out
Employment guidance and follow-up measures
10
Evaluate information on job opportunities given to trainees and graduates
Development of Training Curricula
Appropriateness of
training curricula
development
10
Evaluate if the needs and opinions of industries are reflected in developing training curricula
Operation of Training programs
Appropriateness of operation of training programs
5
Evaluate if training contents and instructional modality are properly chosen and on-the-job training in partnership with industries are conducted
Outcomes of training programs
5
Evaluate if contents, duration, modality and result application of learning assessment are satisfactory.
Records of Training
Percentage of drop-out
5
Evaluate percentage of drop-out
Employment rate
5
Comparative analysis into employment rates among identical job categories
Working hours
5
Evaluate working hours after employed
Degree of satisfaction
5
Evaluate degree of satisfaction of trainees and employers
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Method of Assessment (Work Flow)
Drawing up a master plan including determination of assessment criteria and selection of candidate training institutions to be assessed
Constitution of assessment committee
HRD Korea hosts an orientation on how to input assessment data with participation of local training institutions
The candidate institutions input assessment data on the Internet in accordance with work manual announced on the HRD-Net
Conducting written assessment after collecting assessment data
Conducting assessment by visiting training institutions
HRD Korea disseminates an assessment questionnaire to trainees who completed training courses, employers concerned and local labor administration office.
Finalization of assessment results after bringing together results of written assessment, visit assessment and survey assessment
Report the assessment results to the Ministry of Labor
* The Minister of Labor may take some disciplinary actions toward training institutions in line with assessment results.
Disciplinary measures to be taken following assessment results
Classification
Level A
Level B
Level C
Level D
Level E
Distribution of scores
90 or more
85~89
75~84
60~74
60 or less
Percentage Occupied
10%
20%
40%
20%
10%
Assessment
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Very Poor
Award/ Disciplinary Measures
. Exempted from assessment
. Prioritized allotment of trainees
Entrusted trainees are allotted in accordance with percentage by each level
Government’s support suspended
ANNUAL RECORD OF ASSESSMENT
Records of Assessment
Year
No. of Institutions assessed
No. of institutions regarded as good
No. of training programs assessed
No. of training programs regarded as good
1999
662
15
1830
20
2000
880
34
2621
50
2001
571
62
1593
99
2002
740
15
-
-
2003
1391
5
1385
7
2004
1505
8
1366
17
From 1999-2002, assessments were made on a pilot basis.
Division of levels as shown in the previous page was s made starting from 2003. The number of institutions, i.e, 5 for 2003 and 8 for 2004 fall into the category of Level A (excellent).
Disciplinary Measures in 2003 and 2004 : 83 training institutions that were assessed very poor in 2003 and 77 in 2004 respectively were deprived of training programs for the unemployed and incumbent workers entrusted by the government. In addition, they did not receive financial support for facilities.
Outcome
Assessment results show that quality of training institutions improved from the previous year 2003 on the whole.
Increase in the number of training institutions marked Level A
(8.9% in 2003 → 13.4% in 2004)
Increase in average score(68 points in 2003 → 76points in 2004)
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Like current system, all entities carrying out vocational competency development training will be subject to assessment. Based on the assessment results, over 90% of institutions with good results will be recognized and designated as institutions eligible for training continually. On the other hand, the lowest-scored 10 % of institutions will neither receive government’s support nor be recognized and designated as qualified institutions.
To complement the current system, it is envisaged that the State will officially recognize and designate enterprise-based learning organization and subsidize training costs provided that employers run learn learning organization to improve their employees’ occupational competency in one of the following forms. This system is aimed at maintaining secure employment by assisting workers with life –long learning environment.
Operation of learning organization in enterprise by inviting internal/external lecturers
Operation of learning organization by entrusting upgrade(refresher) training for incumbent workers to other VET institutions To this end, concrete strategies to support enterprise-based learning organization and assessment criteria are to be formulated no later than 2007.
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