Chinese people with a grasp on the English language will be able to take the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) in Beijing and Shanghai from December 7.
It will be the first time the exam -- designed by US-based Educational Testing System (ETS) in 1979 to gauge the English language capability of employees -- has been recognized in China.
More than 2.5 million people around the world take the exam each year and over 4,000 multinational companies in 60 countries and regions use TOEIC to assess the language capability of their employees.
The test will be administered jointly by the Occupational Skill and Testing Authority at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and US Sylvan Learning Systems, according to Chen Yu, director general of the testing authority.
Those taking the test will receive a grade from ETS and the testing authority will issue its official English proficiency certificate for workplaces based on the result, Chen said yesterday in Beijing during the launching ceremony for the test.
He said certificates have been split into five levels and will only be granted to those qualifying for the lowest level.
Chen said TOEIC will become part of China's national occupational skill certification system.
He said the ministry will continue to work to introduce world famous vocational certification systems to China.
According to Wu Xiang, general manager of TOEIC Operations in China, the best way to register for the exam is through the www.toeictest.com.cn website.
(China Daily November 12, 2002)
