The ministry described job common skills as core competencies all workers need regardless of occupation, such as communication, numeracy and problem-solving. The broader system consists of three parts: job-specific skills under the National Competency Standards (NCS), job common skills and general foundational competencies. NCS and job common skills are used as key indicators for human resources development.
Introduced in 2003, the framework has not been revised for more than 20 years, prompting calls to update it. The government said it will pursue a major restructuring after gathering feedback from workplaces.
The ministry said the name change is intended to avoid the misunderstanding that the framework measures only basic academic ability and to clarify that it covers universal competencies required of all workers.
The existing structure of 10 areas and 34 sub-skills will be reorganized into seven areas and 21 sub-skills. Items seen as less useful amid labor market changes will be eliminated, while new areas will be added, including artificial intelligence use, digital responsibility and industrial safety and health awareness.
The seven areas are communication, numeracy, problem-solving, self-management, interpersonal skills, digital skills and work ethics.
Sub-skills include: communication (written, oral and foreign-language communication); numeracy (calculation, use of statistics and use of charts); problem-solving (problem analysis, identifying alternatives and decision-making); self-management (career development, adaptive learning and time management); interpersonal skills (collaboration, leadership and conflict management); digital skills (digital use, AI use and digital responsibility); and work ethics (work ethic, workplace community awareness and industrial safety and health awareness).
The ministry said it will also expand field-oriented learning content. It plans to produce and distribute instructor guides and learner workbooks within the year, reflecting demand for practical materials. It will also develop video lectures to allow learning regardless of time and place and release them through the Korea University of Technology and Education’s STEP portal.
“In the AI era, companies want talent with job common skills that can flexibly adapt to rapidly changing technology and see essential problems through to the end,” said Pyeon Do-in, director general for job skills policy at the ministry. He said the government will quickly distribute the revised standards and related content and “fully support” job seekers so they can strengthen fundamentals and remain competitive in the workplace.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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