Abstract
Small boat operator's certificate of competency took up 39.0% of total license holders and required for at least 19,000 boats in 2013, was proposed the improvement items by reviewing the acts and criteria related to the current test and analyzed the questions of set at examinations. About 31% of questions of the current written test are unsuitable for the target boat and operational knowledge of the operator. It is appropriate that the subject categorization criteria and contents of the subjects will be improved to include practical details related to safe ship operation, and the number of questions increased according to each subject category in amended examination after January 1st, 2017. The interview test should be improved so that the questions can be forwarded in a clear manner through formulation of practical problems, photos, etc. considering the real situations such as high age/low education status of testee and it is necessary to lengthen the interview time per testee. The test and interview personnel should consist of a human resource pool with experience in small boat operator training and workers of related areas familiar with field terminology. Furthermore, the test should be divided into small boats of 2 to 5 tons and those exceeding 5 tons according to the tonnage of small boats.