A new skills test in the field of construction was introduced in Sri Lanka today (Dec 01) for working in Japan as specified skilled workers.
Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakka announcing the initiative said talented Sri Lankans will now have the opportunity to work in Japan and master skills in the construction sector that will contribute not only to Japan’s construction sector but also to the future development of Sri Lanka.
Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka MIZUKOSHI Hideaki, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Sri Lanka Office AMADA Tetsuya and the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, A. A. M. Hilmi, joined the Minister to announce the launch of the initiative to the media at the SLBFE office in Battaramulla.
Together with the skills tests in Nursing Care, Food Service and Agriculture, which have been in place since last year, SSW skills tests in four fields will now be available in Sri Lanka.
Speaking at the occasion Minister Nanayakkara said that Japan has been supporting Sri Lanka for many decades.
“Especially when we faced a severe economic crisis and the country became bankrupt, Japan gave leadership to Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring talks and made a significant contribution to make it a reality. We would like to express our gratitude to the people of Japan, including the Prime Minister of Japan, for the support Japan has given us,” he added.
The Minister further said that job opportunities in Japan for foreign nationals will increase exponentially within the next five years and in this backdrop Japan has opened doors for Sri Lankans with new job opportunities and the Sri Lankan youth should avail of such opportunities by developing necessary skills.
“The friendship between Japan and Sri Lanka is very strong. So we are making arrangements to get a large number of job opportunities for Sri Lankans in Japan in the future,” he said.
Describing new measures to empower Sri Lankans to work in Japan, the Minister said cabinet approval has been obtained for including the Japanese language in the school curriculum targeting Japanese jobs, and that the SLBFE has started an island-wide programme to teach Japanese language and the SLBFE has also taken measures to reimburse the money spent by individuals on Japanese language learning when they get selected for a job in Japan.
The Minister further explained that jobs under the Specified Skilled Worker System (SSW) in Japan are currently available only in the fields of Nursing Care, Food Service and Agriculture for Sri Lankan and a request had been made to consider granting jobs under the SSW system in the Construction, Building Cleaning and Automobiles sector as well for Sri Lankan’s.
“Accordingly, in the past, we have met all the ministers related to these subjects, including the Ministers of Agriculture, Health, and Justice of Japan and made requests. As a result, starting from today, Sri Lankan youth will have the opportunity to go to Japan under the SSW category for the construction sector as well” he said.
The minister added, “People who have Japanese language skills and are involved in the construction industry will be able to pass this exam and go to Japan through the SSW category for employment.” (NewsWire)