National Technical Qualifications Statistics Annual Report Released, Computer Skills Certification Most Popular

The computer skills certification, widely known as 'COMPUTER,' has been confirmed as having the highest number of applicants among national technical qualifications last year.

This certification, which evaluates the ability to utilize office automation programs such as Excel, has established itself as an essential qualification for office job seekers.

According to the '2025 National Technical Qualifications Statistics Annual Report' published by the Korea Industrial Personnel Corporation on the 26th, a total of 2,274,368 people took the national technical qualification exams last year, which is a decrease of 1.9% (43,519 people) compared to the previous year.

The number of certification holders also decreased by 5% (35,887 people) to 714,615 compared to the previous year.

Based on the number of applicants, the Computer Skills Level 2 and Level 1 certifications ranked first and second, respectively, with 437,698 and 429,867 applicants.

Following these, the forklift operator license (270,832 people), industrial safety engineer (196,411 people), and information processing engineer (187,548 people) showed high application rates.

Certification Status by Level

Examining the national technical qualifications by level, the highest level, which is the Engineering License, saw the Construction Safety Engineer as the most popular with 3,951 applicants. It was followed by Civil Engineering Construction Engineer (3,896), Architectural Construction Engineer (3,746), Fire Safety Engineer (3,638), and Electrical Equipment Engineer (2,133).

In the Master Craftsman level, the Hazardous Materials Master Craftsman had an overwhelming first place with 17,292 applicants, followed by Electric Master Craftsman (6,702), Energy Management Master Craftsman (4,067), Gas Master Craftsman (3,984), and Plumbing Master Craftsman (3,356).

For the Engineer level, the Industrial Safety Engineer had the highest number of applicants with 196,411, followed by Information Processing Engineer (187,548), Electric Engineer (119,954), Fire Equipment Engineer (79,203), and Construction Safety Engineer (74,734).

In the Industrial Engineer level, the Industrial Safety Technician had the most applicants with 91,546, followed by Hazardous Materials Technician (77,659), Electric Technician (60,110), Office Automation Technician (25,046), and Information Processing Technician (29,018).

In the Functional Engineer level, the forklift operator license had the highest application rate with 270,832 applicants, followed by Korean Cuisine Cook (121,700), Electric Technician (11,671), Excavator Operator (109,797), and Hairdresser (95,683).

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