More than 300 health workers from the Philippines have recently left the country for Japan. This initiative is under a bilateral program between the two countries that permit caregivers and nurses to take the Japanese licensure exam for a chance to be employed there.
The group, composed of 274 caregivers and 60 nurses, is actually the eight batch of trainees deployed to Japan since the program started in 2009. They will be spending six months studying the language and culture of Japan. They have likewise received a similar training in the Philippines prior to their departure to Japan.
Come December 2016, they will be deployed to various hospitals and caregiving facilities across Japan for on-the-job training prior to taking the exams.
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Hiroyuki Enoki, a Japanese Embassy official, spoke to the Pinoy health workers before departing the country. He said:
“Rest assured that the government of Japan and JICWELS (Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services)…will also help you in providing a lot of assistance for your preparation for the national licensure examination, as well as for securing proper working environment. We all expect that you can give us a hand to address the labor shortage and the aging society in Japan.”
The Japanese representative also warned the health workers about different challenges they will likely encounter as they live in Japan. He provided encouraging words telling them “not to give up and waste the opportunity” that they have before them.
Since the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement program was signed in 2006, more than a thousand Filipino health workers have already been sent to Japan. Reports tell us, however, that only 77 nurses and 136 caregivers from the Philippines have passed the yearly Japanese licensure exams. This data is according to Hans Leo Cacdac, head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
via : abscbn