NEW DELHI -- A year has passed since the new residence status for laborers with specific skills was established under the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law that took effect in April last year.
Now that examinations for nursing care services are available also in Nepal, online classes are becoming increasingly popular among students living in remote areas, boosting the number of successful job-hunters set to work in Japan.
However, amid the spread of the new coronavirus, the Nepali government has suspended operation of international flights as part of antivirus measures, making it uncertain whether those who secured tentative job offers will be able to fly to Japan.
In the early hours of a morning in late March, Neupane Santosh, 28, gave a lecture on professional ethics in nursing care to more than 30 students, who he watched on his computer at his home in Katmandu.
The students could be seen nodding as he explained the importance of protecting privacy. He told them not to use pictures of facility users without permission, even if they become friends.
Rakesh Singh, 22, a student living near the Indian border about 200 kilometers from the capital, was happy about being able to take a class online and found it helpful as there is nowhere to learn Japanese or nursing care in his neighborhood.
Santosh, who has been studying in Japan since 2015, also passed an examination that qualified him to work in nursing care. Temporarily back home, he established Reiwa Nepal Institute Pvt. Ltd. in May last year and began offering online classes on specific skills, targeting students in Nepal.
With the support of Tetsuya Ikeda, 36, who runs Dogwood Community, a personnel placement agency in Kobe for people with specific skills, Santosh launched a system where successful test-takers receive training after coming to Japan. He has also arranged online interviews between exam passers and operators of nursing care facilities. So far, 14 people have secured tentative job offers.
To reduce the burden on students, tuition fees for online classes will be free for students who obtain tentative job offers, while companies planning to hire them will be asked to pay for their training.
In Nepal, nearly 100 people have passed the examination, and the number of people who secured tentative job offers is steadily increasing. The current concern is the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
Rashmi Tamang, 22, has been tentatively offered a position in a nursing care facility in Hyogo Prefecture and is scheduled to move to Japan in June.
"If the delay is not so long I'll just keep studying. But I'm worried, not knowing how long the current situation will last," Tamang said.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
