Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Jennifer Manalili wants part of the training of Filipino nurses and caregivers applying under the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) held here in the Philippines instead of in the “Land of the Rising Sun.”

This as some of the first batch of Filipino workers on JPEPA reportedly backed out while on training in Japan due to homesickness.

During the recent courtesy call of officials of the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services (JICWELS)—POEA’s counterpart agency in Japan under the JPEPA, Manalili proposed the holding of the language training in the Philippines, instead of only in Japan.

“The move is expected to benefit our nurses and caregivers as it will give them more time to be with their families as they learn the Japanese language at the same time. The actual job immersion will have to be done in Japan though,” Manalili said.

The POEA chief is set to go to Japan by the end of the month to visit the various healthcare institutions where Filipino nurses and caregivers conduct their trainings.

Manalili hopes to meet with her counterparts to discuss the arrangements for the entry of Filipinos in the health care sector as well as to negotiate for better terms and conditions for them.

The JICWELS delegation included: Takashi Tsunoda, managing director; Tetsuji Nishiyama, secretary general; Tetsushi Takagi, deputy director; Hiroya Yaguchi, program coordinator; and Labor Attache Haruhiro Jono of the Embassy of Japan.

Also in the group were Rie Negishi, program coordinator; Tamio Hayashi, Ryoko Maeda and Hiroaki Ishii.

The POEA is currently holding interview sessions for the candidates of the next batch of nurses and caregivers under JPEPA at its head office in Ortigas, Mandaluyong City. The interviews started last Feb. 1 and will last until Feb. 6.

Up for grabs are 77 nurse positions and 101 caregivers for deployment to 82 Japanese health and caregiving institutions.

Qualified candidate nurses and caregivers need to complete a six-month Japanese language training in Japan and undertake on-the-job training at their respective hospitals.

POEA said nurses should be able to pass the licensure examination in Japan before they can work as registered nurses and are given three chances to take the licensure examination.

Caregivers, on the other hand, are required to complete at least three years on-the-job training before they can take the national examination for caregivers and work in Japan for an indefinite period after passing the examination.