Number of foreigners surges at schools for care workers in Japan

Jun 11, 2017 | News On Japan

Jun 11, 2017 (lmtonline.com) - Schools in Japan that train certified care workers - who play a core role in nursing care - have seen a rapid increase in the number of foreign students.

The change is mainly due to enforcement of the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law, which changed the status of residence system to allow foreigners, from September this year, to work in Japan once they graduate from such schools and qualify as care workers.

"Types of care service include 'kyotaku' [at-home] and 'shisetsu' [facility]. Do you know what kyotaku means?" A lecturer posed this question in mid-April to about 30 foreign students who had recently enrolled in the Sunshine College of Social and Child Welfare in Tokyo.

The class was tailored to teaching foreign students phrases and terminology frequently used in nursing care. The textbooks had hiragana printed beside each kanji.

The school accepts up to 80 freshmen, and this year 60 are foreign nationals from Vietnam, Myanmar, China and other countries. Students are divided into two classes - one for the 60 foreigners, the other for 10 Japanese.

According to the Japan Association of Training Institutions for Certified Care Workers, an organization based in Tokyo, that comprises professional schools, two-year colleges and other institutions, only 17 foreign students enrolled in care worker training schools designated by the health, labor and welfare minister in fiscal 2014. However, the figure increased to 94 in fiscal 2015 and 257 in fiscal 2016. By nationality, 114 are Vietnamese, 53 are Chinese and 35 are Nepalese.

Revisions to the status of residence system have spurred the change. Previously, foreign students were banned from working in nursing care jobs even if they qualified as certified care workers, except in special cases such as having a Japanese spouse. After the revised immigration law was enforced, foreigners who graduate from a relevant training school and gain certification as a care worker can change their status of residence from "student" to "care worker," allowing them to stay in Japan for work.

According to the association of training institutions, the proportion of enrolled students to the number of open spots at training schools in fiscal 2016 averaged below 50 percent nationwide, meaning schools have had a significant shortage of applicants.

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