The Eligible Training Program List (ETPL) established within the Vocational Competency Development Account System has served as a tool to control the quality of vocational training programs. In this regard, efforts have been made to implement a fair ETPL review process that is based on rational review methods and standards designed by related specialists. However, although 2011 marked the fourth year of the implementation of the Vocational Competency Development Account System, problems have emerged with regards to the management and reviewed procedure of the Vocational Competency Development Account System’s ETPL. In this regard, the need to improve the applicability of the ETPL in the actual field and its objectivity has been continuously raised.
This study thoroughly analyzes the actual state of the management of the Vocational Competency Development Account System implemented in the training and employment fields and the problems that have emerged as a result of the ETPL review system. This examination is intended to facilitate the reorganization of the existing review methods and standards used in conjunction with the ETPL in a manner that would make it possible for the ETPL review system to contribute to the stabilization of the Vocational Competency Development Account System at the early stages and serve as a tool which controls the quality of vocational training programs.
In order to attain the objectives of this study, related to references and materials such as HRD-Net, existing studies, and statistical data were collected and used to analyze institutions related to the ETPL review procedures, the current state of approval, implementation and participation in the ETPL, as well as cases related to similar review processes and management in advanced countries. In addition, face-to-face interviews and surveys were conducted in order to develop a better understanding of the actual state of the management and participation in the ETPL, as well as the problems related to the reviewing procedures and the improvement thereof. Based on these results and subsequent discussions between a specialists’ council and the research team, measures to improve the ETPL review system were identified.
The main results derived from this study, as well as the relevant policy suggestions, can be summarized as follows.
First, the manner in which the training institutions and training participants operating under the Vocational Competency Development Account System established within the framework of the vocational competency development system and related markets reacting to the training market. In this regard, it is necessary to continuously complement the institutional framework and contents of the Vocational Competency Development Account System in order to stabilize the system during the early stages. This can be done by maximizing positive objectives and minimizing the unreasonable elements of the System. There is an urgent need to consolidate the vocational training infrastructure at the national level and to heighten the training efficiency under the Vocational Competency Development Account System.
Second, given its capacity as an important element which was judged the success and performance of the Vocational Competency Development Account System, there is a need to heighten the feasibility of the ETPL review system in terms of its realization and efficiency. In other words, it is necessary to, in keeping with the goals and objectives of the Vocational Competency Development Account System, diversifying the training programs so as to reflect the demands of human resources from the industrial sector, participants’ demands vis-a-vis training programs, and enhance connectivity with local industries. Training programs which can ensure the smooth flow of the human resources required by industrial society from within the vocational competency development market should be encouraged and cultivated.
Third, the importance of the Vocational Competency Development Account System has increased every year such that it has now expanded into job training for the unemployed, training for at risk groups and employment training. Smooth communication and collaboration must be established between the Ministry of Employment and Labor, local governments, KRIVET (including the reviewers), and the Korea Employment Information Service in order to ensure that the work duties are properly implemented in a manner that nevertheless maintains consistency, fairness, and rationality. It is particularly important that the roles and specialization of the related department within the Ministry of Employment and Labor responsible for designing and implementing qualitatively and quantitatively superior to train programs that reflect the demands of the labor market be enhanced.
Fourth, the reliability of the ETPL review system should be enhanced by strengthening the rationality of the reviewing standards and the fairness of the reviewing procedures. To this end, it is essential to abandon the currently obscure application requirements and guidelines for the ETPL review in favor of clearer and more detailed ones. It is also necessary to strengthen the training of reviewers in order to heighten their understanding of the ETPL review system and their degree of specialization in this particular field. In addition, with regard to the training institutions, there is a need to induce them to write out the application in a more detailed manner on HRD-Net when they apply for the ETPL review.
Fifth, the level of the ETPL can be improved by setting up clear review standards from the application stage onwards, and high-level training programs can be encouraged to apply for the ETPL by providing application related to information to training institutions. In addition, it is necessary to facilitate the selection of high quality training programs by strengthening review methods and procedures. As far as the approved training programs are concerned, there is a need to heighten the efficiency with which these are managed by strengthening monitoring.
Sixth, the ETPL review system, which has attracted the investment of large-scale expenses and human resources, should be more than a reviewing procedure; it should also be function as the foundation for the further development of vocational training based on the results of the review. In other words, the results of these reviews should be used to improve training consultations and the issuance of vocational competency development accounts, the supply-demand of human resources, the employment rate, and the infrastructure of individual training institutions. It is also necessary to provide the feedback needed to heighten the efficiency of training by improving the quality of training programs.
Seventh, there is a need to strengthen the training institutions which directly manage the training programs sense of responsibility so as to bring them into line with the vocational training policies of the government and prevent any unnecessary wasting of funds. In other words, it is necessary to clearly establish a training plan that prioritizes the management of the quality of training programs, and to establish a system which can manage client-oriented training programs in an organized manner. Furthermore, the responsibility of the participants in the training programs should also be emphasized by imposing the condition that they must leave the ranks of the unemployed. It is also necessary to improve the system through which the trainees take the training courses. In this regard, users can be encouraged to use all of the funds placed in their vocational competency development accounts for such ends by strengthening trainee screening through training consulting and increasing the sense of responsibility of the trainees.