Vietnamese students attend a Japanese language course before going to Japan to work as care workers (Photo: Kyodo)Hanoi (VNS/VNA)- Vietnam expects to send more workers to Japan and the workers could earn morein the country thanks to Japan’s new policy on specified skills visa.
The policy launched onApril 1 introduces two new categories that allow foreign workers employed in 14types of jobs including nursing care, restaurants and construction, to remainin the country for up to five years.
Under the new law, thosein a category of “specified skilled workers” can stay for up to five years butcannot bring family members. Another category is for more skilled non-Japanesenationals and allows them to bring relatives as well and stay in the countryfor longer.
This is part of Japan’sefforts to ease the country’s tightest job market in decades. In the next fiveyears, Japan expects to receive about 345,500 foreign blue-collar workers.
By the end of 2018, thetotal number of foreign technical trainees in Japan was 328,000, of which thenumber of Vietnamese technical interns accounted for about 50 percent,surpassing China (24 percent) and two other ASEAN countries – the Philippinesat 9 percent and Indonesia at 8 percent.
Japan’s new visa policyto attract more skilled workers is said to create an opportunity for labourexporters, particularly Vietnam.
Last year, Vietnamsent more than 68,000 workers to Japan as interns, which made Japan the largestrecipient of Vietnamese workers. Taiwan was the runner-up, receiving about60,000 Vietnamese workers. A total of 142,860 Vietnamese workers were sent toover 140 countries and territories across the world.
In a relateddevelopment, on July 1, during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit toJapan, Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dungand Japanese Minister of Justice Yamashi Takashi signed a Memorandum ofCo-operation (MoC) on implementing the specified skills labour programme.
Nguyen Gia Liem, DeputyDirector General of the Department of Overseas Labour Management said thatunder the MoC, Japan would only receive Vietnamese workers who completed allrequired procedures in accordance with Vietnam’s laws and they must beverified.
Verified workers arethose sent to work overseas by companies that the ministry granted licences tosend “specified skills” workers.
Besides high-skilledworkers living in Vietnam, two other groups of workers eligible for theprogramme are Vietnamese interns and overseas students who finished theircourses in Japan.
Japan would provideVietnamese workers with funds for travel, language lessons and skills testswhile Vietnam would supervise to avoid disadvantages for its workers, Liemsaid.
“The implementation ofthe MoC is expected to help curb illegal brokers and violations relating tolabour exports,” Liem said.
Tran Van Ha, head of theCommunication Desk at the Department of Overseas Labour, told Nong thonngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper that as soon as Vietnam startedthe programme on sending specified skill workers to Japan, some companies alsostarted to recruit workers, advertising jobs with high salaries of 4,000-5,000USD, good welfare and that workers can take their family along to Japan.
Ha warned workers aboutpossible fraudulent brokers. She said only companies that were given licencesby the labour ministry could send such workers.
Vietnamese interns workingin Japan could get limited social welfare because they were not officialemployees while overseas students in Japan were allowed to work a maximum of 20hours per week.
“Both interns andoverseas students must spend at least two years working and staying in Japanbefore they can shift to the status of specified skills workers,” Ha said.
She strongly advisedpeople who want to apply for the specified skills visa to seek reliableinformation, for example from Ha’s department or the departments of labour inprovinces and cities.-VNS/VNA
The policy launched onApril 1 introduces two new categories that allow foreign workers employed in 14types of jobs including nursing care, restaurants and construction, to remainin the country for up to five years.
Under the new law, thosein a category of “specified skilled workers” can stay for up to five years butcannot bring family members. Another category is for more skilled non-Japanesenationals and allows them to bring relatives as well and stay in the countryfor longer.
This is part of Japan’sefforts to ease the country’s tightest job market in decades. In the next fiveyears, Japan expects to receive about 345,500 foreign blue-collar workers.
By the end of 2018, thetotal number of foreign technical trainees in Japan was 328,000, of which thenumber of Vietnamese technical interns accounted for about 50 percent,surpassing China (24 percent) and two other ASEAN countries – the Philippinesat 9 percent and Indonesia at 8 percent.
Japan’s new visa policyto attract more skilled workers is said to create an opportunity for labourexporters, particularly Vietnam.
Last year, Vietnamsent more than 68,000 workers to Japan as interns, which made Japan the largestrecipient of Vietnamese workers. Taiwan was the runner-up, receiving about60,000 Vietnamese workers. A total of 142,860 Vietnamese workers were sent toover 140 countries and territories across the world.
In a relateddevelopment, on July 1, during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit toJapan, Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dungand Japanese Minister of Justice Yamashi Takashi signed a Memorandum ofCo-operation (MoC) on implementing the specified skills labour programme.
Nguyen Gia Liem, DeputyDirector General of the Department of Overseas Labour Management said thatunder the MoC, Japan would only receive Vietnamese workers who completed allrequired procedures in accordance with Vietnam’s laws and they must beverified.
Verified workers arethose sent to work overseas by companies that the ministry granted licences tosend “specified skills” workers.
Besides high-skilledworkers living in Vietnam, two other groups of workers eligible for theprogramme are Vietnamese interns and overseas students who finished theircourses in Japan.
Japan would provideVietnamese workers with funds for travel, language lessons and skills testswhile Vietnam would supervise to avoid disadvantages for its workers, Liemsaid.
“The implementation ofthe MoC is expected to help curb illegal brokers and violations relating tolabour exports,” Liem said.
Tran Van Ha, head of theCommunication Desk at the Department of Overseas Labour, told Nong thonngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper that as soon as Vietnam startedthe programme on sending specified skill workers to Japan, some companies alsostarted to recruit workers, advertising jobs with high salaries of 4,000-5,000USD, good welfare and that workers can take their family along to Japan.
Ha warned workers aboutpossible fraudulent brokers. She said only companies that were given licencesby the labour ministry could send such workers.
Vietnamese interns workingin Japan could get limited social welfare because they were not officialemployees while overseas students in Japan were allowed to work a maximum of 20hours per week.
“Both interns andoverseas students must spend at least two years working and staying in Japanbefore they can shift to the status of specified skills workers,” Ha said.
She strongly advisedpeople who want to apply for the specified skills visa to seek reliableinformation, for example from Ha’s department or the departments of labour inprovinces and cities.-VNS/VNA
VNA
