Test takers in their 20s account for 39.5% of total; process-based qualification holders up 17%

The 2026 National Technical Qualification Statistical Yearbook [Provided by Human Resources Development Service of Korea]
The 2026 National Technical Qualification Statistical Yearbook [Provided by Human Resources Development Service of Korea]

The number of people who sat for national technical qualification exams last year surpassed 2.29 million, with demand for the industrial safety engineer and computer skills certificates remaining strong. Overall qualification holders edged down slightly, while those earning credentials through the process-based assessment route posted double-digit growth.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea published the 2026 National Technical Qualification Statistical Yearbook on Thursday, releasing data on how the national technical qualification system operated last year.

According to the yearbook, a total of 2,290,491 people sat for written examinations under the examination-based and process-based assessment systems in 2025, up 0.7 percent, or 16,123 people, from the previous year. The number of people who obtained qualifications, however, fell 0.6 percent, or 4,424 people, to 710,193.

Breaking down by type, examination-based qualification holders declined 0.9 percent year-on-year to 698,140, while process-based qualification holders rose 17.0 percent to 12,053. The process-based system allows candidates to earn credentials through internal and external assessments after completing education and training programs built on the National Competency Standards.

By qualification level, those sitting for the craftsman grade accounted for the largest share of test takers at 40.0 percent, followed by the engineer grade at 25.5 percent, the service category at 21.9 percent and the industrial engineer grade at 10.2 percent. The craftsman grade also dominated among those who obtained qualifications, making up more than half at 52.0 percent.

By age group, test takers in their 20s were the largest cohort at 898,072, representing 39.5 percent of the total. They were followed by those in their 30s at 18.2 percent, those aged 19 and under at 14.8 percent, and those in their 40s at 12.4 percent. Test takers aged 60 and older numbered 104,686, accounting for 4.6 percent of the total and continuing a steady upward trend.

Preferred qualifications also differed markedly by age group. Teenagers and those in their 20s most frequently sat for the Level 2 computer skills certificate, while test takers in their 40s and older gravitated toward the forklift operator certificate. Among those in their 50s and 60s and above, the forklift operator certificate was the single most popular exam.

The Level 2 computer skills certificate drew the largest overall number of test takers at 247,841, followed by the Level 1 computer skills certificate at 151,464, the forklift operator certificate at 110,316, the industrial safety engineer certificate at 90,265 and the electrical craftsman certificate at 67,010.

Among engineer-grade qualifications, the industrial safety engineer certificate recorded the highest number of test takers at 90,265. The information processing engineer certificate at 66,308 and the electrical engineer certificate at 64,080 also drew strong demand. In the industrial engineer grade, the industrial safety industrial engineer and electrical industrial engineer certificates ranked near the top, while in the craftsman grade, the forklift operator and electrical craftsman certificates led the field.

National technical qualifications are administered by 10 institutions, including the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea Radio Promotion Association. The Human Resources Development Service of Korea administered 488 categories of qualifications and produced 601,005 credential holders, representing 84.6 percent of all qualification recipients.


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