South Korea will create new state certificates of professional jobs in the fields of robotics, 3-D printing, energy and biotechnology to nurture talent in emerging technologies, the labor ministry said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced its plan for 17 new certification programs aiming to cope with the changing labor market driven by development in new technologies.

Seventeen new engineering certificates will be introduced this week including robotic software and equipment, 3-D printing, renewable energy, biological medicine and environmental risk management.

Korea currently offers a total of 527 certificates for professional jobs.

"The establishment of these new certificates will be a basis for creating new jobs in the future," Labor Minister Lee Ki-kweon was quoted by the ministry as saying. (Yonhap)