Manila starts caregiver screening

MANILA (Kyodo) The Philippine government on Monday started screening nurses and caregivers who want to undergo training and work in Japan under an economic partnership agreement.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration invited at least 15 potential applicants to attend the Prerecruitment Briefing, a one-hour orientation lecture detailing the rules regarding the deployment and acceptance of Filipino registered nurses and certified caregivers in Japan.

Nimfa de Guzman, officer in charge of the POEA's welfare and employment office, said the administration plans to deploy the first batch of health workers in April or May.

She said the government's target is to send an estimated 1,000 qualified Filipino health workers within two years, or 200 nurses and 250 caregivers this year and about the same number next year.

"More than 3,000 have applied online. We are sifting through the list," she said.

De Guzman explained to the 15 applicants — four nurses and 11 caregivers — the 10 steps they will have to complete to qualify for the free language training and paid on-the-job training that the Japanese government will provide to successful applicants.

The entry of Filipino nurses and caregivers is one of the main highlights of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement that went into effect Dec. 11.

Melody Ann Alauig, 31, one of the participants, said she was unsure whether to proceed with her application.

"I heard the language training is extremely difficult," Alauig, a registered nurse for seven years, said. "At this point I'm not sure if I should go for it."

Jessalyn Gacho, 23, who applied as a caregiver, said the application process looks "very challenging."

"It's like an obstacle course. But the No. 1 enemy I think is learning the language and taking the licensure examination in Japanese," she said.

Source: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090127a5.html