Japan is looking to hire around 350,000 skilled foreign workers within a 5-year time period. According to a report shared on September 4, 2021, on the Philippine News Agency website, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Osaka, Japan said that there’s a need to hire foreign workers for its labor workforce.
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This is great news as this gives overseas Filipino workers an opportunity to apply for the said jobs and work in Japan. The government of Japan also said that they will assist the applicants to come to work there.
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POLO Osaka: Agriculture, Care Workers, Engineering, and Skilled Worker Jobs Available in Japan
POLO-Osaka Labor Attaché Elizabeth Marie Estrada said in a digital forum that Japan will require 350,000 people under the SSW (Specified Skilled Worker) program.
In Japan, farming agriculture and caregiving are two of the most promising industries for employing migrant workers, particularly Filipinos.
In the agricultural sector, there is a demand for people who can operate machinery. In the health sector, there is a demand for nurses and caregivers. Other demands to be filled up are carpenters, electricians, and welders.
SSW Program: Specified Skilled Worker Visa in Japan
The Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) is a 5-year visa program the Japanese government created to recruit foreign workers and help support the country’s rapidly aging population.
The SSW has two occupational categories: Specified Skilled Worker I and II.
- Specified Skilled Worker I – These are the workers who were originally brought in to help fill in roles that required expertise. This is their baseline level of proficiency and allows them to work in Japan for up to five years.
- Specified Skilled Worker II – Individuals with a higher level of specialization who are permitted to work in Japan indefinitely based on the renewal of their employment contract.
Popular Job Categories for Filipinos in Japan
Both skilled and non-skilled job opportunities await in Japan for Filipinos. The profession categories that fall in the in-demand jobs in Japan include the following:
- care workers
- English teachers
- health workers
- welders
- food processing
- overseas performing artists (OPAs)
- scaffolding/reinforced bar construction
- agriculture/cultivation
- engineering
Estrada added that it looks like they’ll be giving priority to people in the caregiving and agriculture sectors if Japan ever reopens since food and service is one of the major areas that are essential during these times. These are the two most likely priority industries that they will allow into the country.
Estrada said that the majority of Filipino agricultural laborers work in greenhouses and these Filipinos are sourced from Kalinga and Sagada. Some of the examples of job opportunities in Japan for the agricultural sector include poultry, pig farming, and the production of food for their animals. So if you plan to take up employment in this industry, this will give you an idea of the tasks you may handle.
POLO Osaka Aims to Hire the Foreign Workers in Philippines
As the demand for skilled workers is urgently needed, POLO Osaka shared that they want to get a big portion of this job requirement from the Philippines.
They mentioned that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the borders have been closed and the Philippines managed to deploy only 10,000 Filipino workers in Japan. However, once the Japan borders reopen, many of our Filipino compatriots will be sent for employment.
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office has stated that there are 277,409 Filipinos in Japan as of July 2021. Vietnamese are the top foreign workforce in Japan, followed by Chinese. Filipinos come on 3rd place.
WARNING: Please make sure to apply via accredited Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) agencies only. Filipinos who wish to apply for jobs overseas need to make sure that they go through the legal process in order to avoid becoming victims to illegal recruitment and human trafficking.