280 Filipino nurses, caregivers to start skills training in Japan

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MANILA, May 8 Kyodo -
Japan has agreed to accept 92 nurses and 188 caregivers from the Philippines,
the first group of Filipino health workers to get free language and skills
training in Japan, Japanese and Philippine officials said Friday.
Reydeluz Conferido of the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment said
270 health workers will leave for Japan on Sunday for six months of language
and skills training at various hospitals and care facilities in Japan, while
the remaining 10 will leave later this month.
During the first six months, Conferido said the 280 candidates will learn the
Japanese language and familiarize themselves with the Japanese hospital and
care system.
Thousands of Filipino job seekers applied online when news broke early this
year that Japan needs nurses and caregivers to take care of its ageing
population.
The health workers have been recruited to ease staff shortages in Japanese
hospitals and care facilities.
The 134 Japanese institutions and facilities that applied through the Japan
International Corporation of Welfare Services, a semi-governmental
organization, have agreed to provide free skills training to the 280 Filipino
health workers.
''These applicants were successfully matched with the employers'
requirements,'' said Philippine Overseas Employment Agency Administrator
Jennifer Manalili.
Japan has agreed to accept the first group of at least 450 health workers under
the 2006 Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement.
''Unfortunately some hospitals backed out because of the effect of the global
economic crisis,'' said Conferido, a former Philippine labor attache in Japan
who helped negotiate the economic partnership agreement.
Conferido said some Japanese employers who have backed out voiced concern about
the high cost of providing free skills training.
''You see these health facilities will not just hire Filipino health workers.
They will also provide support and educational opportunities,'' Conferido said.
Filipino nurses Lerma Cabrera, 23, and John Denmark, 23, are among the
successful candidates who are due to fly to Japan on Sunday.
Both passed the nursing licensure exams in the Philippines. However, they are
going to Japan as caregivers because they do not possess enough hospital
experience as nurses.
Cabrera and Denmark said the job offers are practically free, unlike if they
apply for positions in the United States, Britain and the Middle East.
Skilled nurses Kelvin Chan and Joel Roxas, both 27, said they are ready to face
the challenges that await them in Japan. Roxas will train at a Hokkaido in
hospital while Chan will work at a hospital in Saitama Prefecture.
Ofelia Feji, a 30-year-old nurse who worked at a Saudi Arabian hospital for two
years, said she is willing to leave her 9-year-old son, 5-year-old daughter and
her husband in Davao City on Mindanao Island to train in Japan.
''There is no opportunity here in the Philippines. The offer by Japan is a
blessing from God,'' said Feji, who will also train in Saitama.
The candidate nurses are due to take the first licensure exam in February 2010.
If they do not pass they will be given two more opportunities to pass the
licensure exams in 2011 and 2012.
Caregivers are required to have three years of experience in Japan before they
can take the licensure exam for caregivers.
The 280 nurses and caregivers rejoiced Friday, some even shed tears as they
received their plane tickets, passports, visas, contracts and other travel
documents needed to travel to Japan.
==Kyodo
2009-05-08 23:16:32