Angelite Nurses

MANILA--The Philippine government has begun language classes to help nurses wanting to go and work in Japan overcome the high language barrier, and even pays them to enroll.
The project is aimed at boosting the rate of Philippine applicants who pass Japan's national nursing examination and increasing the number of nurses seeking a career in Japan under the economic partnership agreement (EPA) between the two countries.
During one recent Japanese class, a teacher held up a panel with kanji for difficult words, such as "roasha" (the hearing impaired) and "nenza" (sprain), while the students read the words aloud in unison.
The Philippines' Technical Education and Skills Development Authority conducted a four-month Japanese course on a trial basis, ending in early September. Most participants studied while working at hospitals. During their language training, they acquired basic Japanese conversational skills, and learned medical terms and about Japan's workplace culture.
Participant Ana Melissa Cana said she received a job offer from a Japanese hospital based on the EPA deal, but declined it shortly before leaving for Japan. She said she was suddenly scared by the thought of living in Japan and taking the examination in Japanese.
However, the 31-year-old nurse is now determined to try again, as she still wants to work in Japan, which is known for its excellent medical technology.
But the first step, she said, is tackling the Japanese language.
Manila apparently has growing concerns that it may fail in its role of sending nurses to Japan as outlined in the economic partnership agreement, prompting it to take action. In February, 59 Philippine nurses made their first attempt at Japan's national nursing exams; only one passed. If nurses on the EPA program fail to pass the exam for three straight years, they must return home.
Questions have been raised over the current EPA arrangement, which offers foreign nurses only six months of Japanese language lessons.
To turn the situation around, the Philippine government has allocated 2.2 million peso (4.4 million yen) to launch the Japanese program and has paid as many as 75 participants in the program an allowance of 6,000 peso a month.
The government now appears to be considering participation in the program when selecting nurses to be sent to Japan. It hopes this will encourage capable nurses to go to Japan, which is a less popular destination than Western nations--where English is used more commonly--among many nurses.
Manila also is reportedly considering inviting more applicants and increasing class time.
The EPA between Japan and the Philippines took effect in December 2008. In May last year, the Philippines began dispatching nurses and caregivers to Japan. Under the EPA deal, Japan accepts up to 1,000 such nurses and caregivers for two years, but only 436 have been sent so far.
In Japan, the high cost of getting foreign nurses up to speed because of the language hurdle has deterred some potential employers from hiring them. The EPA will be reviewed next year, and Tokyo likely will seek to tweak the current system.
Viveca Catalig, a deputy administrator at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, acknowledged his country's own effort has its limits, and said he hopes Japan will consider expanding its language training and easing requirements for nurses in order not to disappoint motivated Philippine applicants.

By Danny Buenafe - ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The close coordination between the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Swiss authorities proved fruitful as there is now a gradual phase-in of new recruits for Filipino au pairs or nannies in Switzerland.
Ambassador Teresa Lazaro relayed the good news adding that almost 50 newly hired nannies have started working with their respective Swiss employers.
“There’s actually a demand for our Filipina au pairs. We seemed to be very good with languages and very good in taking care of the young children,” said Lazaro.
Under the agreement, there is no placement fee for the applicants, and the average take home pay is almost 1,000 Swiss Francs or almost P43,000 every month.
According to Lazaro, the applicant must meet certain qualifications. Her age should be 18 to 25 years old. She must also be single, and should learn the German language which will be paid up by her employer.
The work contract, as stipulated in the law, will only be for 18 months or one-year-and-a-half and with no renewal.
For those interested, Lazaro said they need to coordinate with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
“There are certain offices, agencies, here that are specializing on Filipino au pairs,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lazaro is also pushing for the training agreement with Swiss government to allow the recruitment of Filipino nurses to Switzerland.
“Switzerland is already in need of health workers,” Lazaro said.
It is possible, she said, that the recruitment of Filipina nurses would start next year as there is now a big demand in various university hospitals in Switzerland.

By Nathaniel R. Melican - BusinessWorld
The Philippines should determine the “optimum level” of migration for different professions to prevent either a shortage or surplus in the country’s human resources.
Such an exercise will benefit both the country and its labor force by ensuring that the economy is well supported and at the same time providing the workers ample opportunity to recover their investments in education, Winfred M. Villamil, dean of the De La Salle University School of Economics, told BusinessWorld in an interview.
Migration for better work abroad is not bad in itself, Mr. Villamil said.
“People who would otherwise not invest in a college degree or in learning a new skill will be encouraged because of the prospect of working abroad and earning more. A certain optimum amount of migration will therefore raise the welfare not only of the migrants but also of the people left behind,” Mr. Villamil said.
But the migration rate must be monitored as an imbalance will have a negative impact, he said.
Mr. Villamil said signs that migration in a particular profession has breached the optimum point is when shortages occur and when average productivity of workers in the profession is declining. Another sign is when there is a surplus of workers in the profession.
Such an imbalance can be observed in the nursing profession, Mr. Villamil said.
“When nursing became in demand abroad and a lot of people were being hired as nurses abroad, you saw all these nursing schools sprout and you see all these people enrolling in nursing schools,” he said, noting that this sudden outflow of nurses temporarily caused a shortage of nurses locally.
“Today, I think we are now experiencing a surplus [of nurses],” he said.
Similarly, the number of Philippine workers in the maritime industry might also be breaching the optimum mark, as the demand abroad is now for more skilled workers.
“In terms of crews for ships, I think the demand is starting to decline.
We are also facing competition from other countries. I think the trend now is more toward the higher skilled level, for people who are going to be officers in ships,” he said.
Mr. Villamil said once the national government determines the optimum level of migration in different sectors, it can encourage people to develop skills in professions where labor supply has not reached the optimum mark, so they can enhance their employment opportunities abroad.
“The government should also think about ways to control migration so that the flow is optimal, but without infringing on the right of people to go where they want to go,” he said.
But Rene E. Ofreneo, professor at the University of the Philippines’ School of Labor and Industrial Relations, is cautious of the promotion of migration, saying this produces a “vicious cycle” that will end in the depletion of the country’s human resources.
“Our dependence on migration drains us of many high-end workers, such as engineers. This will slowly but surely affect the local industry and could even lead to the failure of local industries and even mission-critical services, such as health care,” Mr. Ofreneo said in a telephone interview.
He urged the government to focus on developing the local job market.