Sri Lanka to teach Japanese at school level targeting jobs in Japan – By CHANKA JAYASINGHE
Source : economynext.com
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers has greenlit a proposal to train prospective foreign employees in Japanese and English language skills and other soft skills targeting job opportunities in Japan.
This will be carried out through technical subjects offered in the school curriculum, and soft skills in nursing, hospitality, building cleaning, agricultural activities, motor mechanics, electronics and electrical engineering and others will also be developed under the programme, a government information department statement said on Tuesday August 09.
“In terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of Japan, Sri Lankans are eligible to apply for employment as technical in service trainees and employments in 14 sectors under the programme with special skills. Competency in Japanese language is an essential qualification for the purpose and should be qualified precisely from the examinations conducted in several stages,” the statement said.
A plan is under way in Japan to recruit 345,000 workers for the next five years under a special skills employment programme, and Japan has signed agreements with seven countries including Sri Lanka for this purpose, the statement said.
Sri Lanka currently offers Japanese language as an extra subject from primary grades to GCE Ordinary Level exams. However, it is not included in the syllabus of the GCE Advanced Level examination in any of the main subject streams.
On June 19, 2019 a Memorandum of Cooperation on a Basic Framework for Proper Operation of the System pertaining to Foreign Human Resources with the Status of Residence of “Specified Skilled Worker” was signed in Tokyo between the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan and the National Police Agency, and the Ministry of Telecommunication, Foreign Employment and Sports of Sri Lanka.
The purpose of this Memorandum of Cooperation is to establish a basic framework for information partnership in order to ensure smooth and proper sending and accepting of specified skilled workers, in particular the elimination of malicious intermediary organisations, and to resolve the problems of sending, accepting and residing in Japan of specified skilled worker, a statement said.
Under the agreement, Sri Lankans will have the opportunity to apply for 14 industry sectors in Japan. However, applicants will have to face several examinations when applying and Japanese language proficiency is a mandatory qualification. (Colombo/Aug09/2022)
