By Rose B. Palacio

Davao City (5 October) -- Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Mindanao chief Francis Domingo said that there are about 1,500 slots made available for jobseekers wanting to apply to South Korea. Of the 1,500 slots about 1,400 positions are for males and about 100 are available for females.

Job applicants ought to know at least basic Korean language. which is why a simultaneous Korean language examination is slated nationwide; in Manila, Cebu and Davao on October 29, 2006 (Sunday) at 2:00-3:30pm.

Qualified applicants of the scheduled Korean language tests are those already registered with the POEA Mindanao field office. POEA registered applicants for Korea are advised to report immediately at POEA office at Ecoland between October 4 to 13, 2006 for the Korean language tests.

Payment for the Korean language test per examinee is P1,500 or $30 which should be paid directly to the bank. However, applicants are required to report first to POEA Mindanao field office to get the Order of Payment that should be presented to the bank for payment.

The amount of P1,500 or $30 payment per applicant will be paid to the International Korean Language federation that official conducts the examination. The scheduled exam on October 29, 2006 is the first ever held here in Davao (outside Metro Manila).

Applicants who should report to POEA Mindanao field office between October 4-13 are those who were able to apply for Korean jobs under the employment permit system with POEA. Those names are not registered with POEA need not report because unregistered applicants are not qualified to take the Korean language tests.

Registered applicants for Korean are requested to report to POEA to fill up necessary forms and get important documents that should be presented during the examination.

Those below 39 years old can still have the chance to take the exam but those born before October 30, 1968 are not qualified because their ages will be more than 39 years old at the time of the examination.

For passers, their names will immediately be submitted to the Department of Labor in Korea for the employers to select from among the passers.

Job placement is in line with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's agenda of providing employment especially for jobseekers aiming to work abroad, Domingo said.