Korea widens tire-noise testing experience rule to count pre-graduation work

South Korea's environment ministry has broadened the practical-experience requirement for companies that measure the noise of their own tires, allowing work done before a graduation, degree or certificate to count the same as experience gained afterwards.

The change, issued as a partial amendment to the enforcement rules of the Noise and Vibration Control Act, took effect on the day it was published. It is aimed at helping young people who face difficulty entering the workforce, the ministry said.

Under the revised rule, the staffing standard that manufacturers or importers of automotive tires must meet to measure tire noise themselves will recognise pre-qualification experience. The amendment also simplifies the wording on equivalent academic backgrounds, replacing a long reference to high-school graduation and related recognition tests with a shorter phrase covering any level of education recognised as equivalent under other laws.

A newly added note to the rule states that practical work in the relevant fields counts even when performed before the degree or certificate was obtained, and the same holds for the qualification-based categories in the same table.

The ministry said in an Oct. 27 press release that the wider recognition of practical experience also applies to the staffing requirements for noise inspection agencies, where experience gained before certification is now included in the calculation.