The Japanese Embassy in Manila and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) are sending the 17th batch of Filipino nurses and caregivers to Japan this June under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

The Embassy of Japan in the Philippines and the Department of Migrant Workers hold a send-off ceremony for the 17th batch of Filipino nurses and caregivers under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement. (Photo from Embassy of Japan)

The batch, composed of 218 candidates—19 nurses and 199 caregivers—will be deployed to Japan this month after they completed six months of Preparatory Japanese Language Training in the country.

“All candidates were hired through a government-to-government arrangement facilitated by the DMW and the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services (JICWELS),” the embassy said in a statement on Monday, June 9.

A send-off ceremony was held last June 4 for the future nurses and caregivers in Japan.

According to the embassy, the initiative is part of the implementation of the JPEPA, which was signed in 2006.

“Since the deployment of the first batch in 2009, over 4,000 Filipino candidates for nurse and certified careworker have participated in the program,” the embassy added.

After completing six months of Preparatory Japanese Language Training in the Philippines, they will undergo an additional six months of intensive Japanese language training in Japan prior to their assignments to hospitals and caregiving facilities.

The embassy said that these trainings are all free of charge and will even include daily living allowances throughout the training period.

Once their language training is completed, they will be deployed to their assigned facilities, where they will undergo “further training” to help them obtain Japanese national licenses in their respective fields.

Source: Manila Bulletin