Ministries of Vietnam, Japan Sign Cooperation Deal on Care Worker Training

The Vietnamese Ministry of Labor-Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on providing language and professional training courses for Vietnamese care worker apprentices before working in Japan, state media reported. The signing ceremony took place on the occasion of Vietnamese Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep’s visit to the East Asian country last week. The MoU is part of Japan’s efforts to concretize its new regulations on foreign workers, which was officially announced on July 29. Under Japan’s rules, care worker was added to the list of sectors that receive foreign apprentices for further training in three years in the foreign country. Besides, the MoLISA hosted a conference at the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan on August 6 to list the difficulties of this job, such as language barriers, harsh working conditions, and indifferent incomes. Regardless, Mr. Nguyen Truong Son from the embassy reaffirmed the determination of Japan in developing the occupation, which is facing a lack of tens of thousands workers.  At present, Vietnam has the highest number of apprentices studying and working in Japan with around 126,000 people. Earlier, the Japanese government announced that it would receive 3,000 Vietnamese caregivers to work for 12 Japanese firms within next year, and raise the number to 10,000 by the summer of 2020. (Bao Quoc Te – International Newspaper Aug 4; Bnews Aug 3, Tin Tuc - News Aug 7)