Korea Aims to Create Global Shipbuilding Certification

Korean shipbuilders, who lead the global industry, are seeking to make their skills the international standard. The Human Resources Development Service of Korea said it will hold a three-day workshop starting Thursday in conjunction with private-sector experts including the Korean Shipbuilders' Association to devise a new national qualification certificate and develop this into a global standard.
At the workshop, the government and private sector hope to come up with a new set of standards to test welding, coating and other shipbuilding skills, as well as a new framework to issue diplomas. They will be applied to Korean workers first and sold to other countries later.
At present, welding diplomas issued by associations in advanced countries such as the American Bureau of Shipping and the Norwegian certification company Det Norske Veritas are recognized as global standards. ABS is a non-profit civilian organization entrusted by the U.S. government with handling certification of ship design, construction and maintenance, and leads the world in terms of standards.
Korean shipbuilders require welders to have ABS certification to win contracts from overseas. Each year, around 50,000 Korean welders take the ABS exam, spending an estimated US$10 million a year.
Kim Joon-tae, a senior researcher at the HRDSK said the global shipbuilding industry could use Korean certifications as global standards just as Oracle's certifications are viewed as global standards. He added standards set with input from the private sector could be used to administer qualification tests starting as early as next year.