The NCS-based Qualification System: Diagnosis and Future Tasks for Improvement

In order to develop a field-oriented qualification system as a part of efforts to push for President Park Geun-hye’s state affairs, National Competency Standards(NCS) was developed in accordance to which, the qualification system has been reformed. However, as the new qualification system is in its initial stage of implementation, the systematic structure of ‘qualification planning - qualification operation - qualification utilization’ based on NCS is not stable yet and thus the system is being implemented on a trial-and-error basis. Revealing its limitations, the qualification system has not been diagnosed in a systematic manner. One of the goals of this study is to diagnose whether the NCS-based qualification system is being operated fulfilling its original purposes and whether the qualification management and operation system is in place supporting smooth application of the qualification system in the labor market. The study also aims to analyze the problems arising in the process of carrying out the system and to come up with tasks for improvement. In order to achieve these goals, comprehensive reviews were made on a variety of literatures and diverse study approaches were adopted including interviewing experts, conducting surveys, visiting educational institutions and industrial fields and holding policy seminars. This study deals mainly with the followings. First, the theoretical background is reviewed concerning ‘diagnosis of the NCS-based qualification system’. As for domestic implementation of NCS-based qualifications policies, the current state and recent developments are analyzed, while analysis results and implications of qualification policies in major foreign nations are also examined. With a view to establish an analysis framework for NCS-based qualifications policies, comprehensive reviews are made to find out the background and analysis methods of other policies. In addition, based on the new framework, the NCS-based qualification policies implemented so far are assessed with their problems identified and future policy tasks are suggested to solve the problems. The policy tasks proposed by this study are as below. ..