The Department for Overseas Labour Management announced on September 16 an increase in the recruitment of nurses and orderlies to work in Japan as part of the Vietnam-Japan economic partnership agreement (VJEPA).

The move will see selected candidates participate a one-year language course to study Japanese, with all expenses for tuition and accommodation covered.

Successful candidates will then be able to take the examination in order to gain the necessary national certificates of Japan. Providing that they pass, candidates will be able to work in the country over the long-term, with the monthly salary for nurses being between JPY130,000 and JPY140,000, and between JPY140,000 and JPY150,000 for orderlies.

In order to receive more information, prospective applicants should contact the Department for Overseas Labour Management at No.41B, Ly Thai To Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, or alternatively go online at www.dolab.gov.vn.

The need for Vietnamese workers in the health sector comes due to Japan having one of the most rapidly ageing populations in the world, therefore the Far Eastern country requires up to 400,000 nurses and orderlies to take care of its elderly people.

Vietnam becomes the third country, after the Philippines and Indonesia, to co-operate alongside Japan in the exchange of nurses and orderlies, with 1,109 Vietnamese caregivers already being sent to Japan. 

The agreement should provide an excellent opportunity for both Vietnamese nurses and orderlies to be trained and stationed in a professional overseas working environment, therefore improving their qualifications.