Japan hiring over 100 Pinoy nurses, caregivers

MANILA, Philippines - Japan is hiring over a hundred more Filipino nurses and caregivers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said representatives of Japan International Corporation for Welfare Services (JICWELS) and different health care facilities are set to interview applicants in the next two weeks.

“The interview for 400 Filipino health workers bound for Japan has been set from Sept. 12 to 19,” Baldoz said, citing a report from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

POEA chief Hans Cacdac said JICWELS requested the preparation of 180 nurse and 220 caregiver candidates for the interview.

“The number of applicants to be interviewed is three times the number of 130 vacancies as of July,” Cacdac noted.

According to Cacdac, JICWELS has extended the period of recruitment of employers and healthcare facilities for the purpose of increasing the number of vacancies.

Those that will be selected after the interview will be matched with health care facilities then undergo six-month Japanese language training in the country starting December.

The successful applicants shall leave by June 2013 for Japan, where they will undergo another six-month Japanese language training.

Those that will be deployed in June comprise the fifth batch of Filipino nurses and caregivers hired under the Philippine-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

Three years ago, the Philippines and Japan entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the training and employment of Filipino nurses and caregivers in Japanese health care facilities under the PJEPA.

Under the agreement, fully qualified nurses and certified caregivers, after passing the Japanese national licensure examination, shall have the option to stay for an unlimited period in Japan to practice their profession based on new and upgraded employment contracts with their employer.