Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports Minister Harin Fernando with Japanese Minister of Justice Takashi Yamashita after signing the agreement in Japan.
TOKYO, June 2019: The Sri Lankan government has signed a landmark agreement with the government of Japan, paving the way for Sri Lanka to send hundreds of skilled workers to Japan for employment under 14 different job categories.
A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Ministry of Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports of Sri Lanka and Japan’s Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan and the National Police Agency was signed in Japan on 19 June by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports, Harin Fernando and the Japanese Minister of Justice Takashi Yamashita.
Sri Lankan media reports quoted Minister Harin Fernando as saying that following the agreement up to about 1,000 skilled workers were expected to take up employment in Japan over the next six months.
Among the key aims of the MoC are to establish a basic framework for information partnership in order to ensure a smooth and proper process for facilitating the employment of skilled workers in specific categories, to eliminate malpractices by intermediary organisations, and to resolve issues encountered in receiving migrant workers and their residency status. Mindful that some may make use of the agreement for fraudulent activities, the Sri Lankan authorities have urged the public to be vigilant against racketeers who may attempt to obtain money, claiming that they could get jobs for them in Japan.
Japan has decided to sign specified skilled worker MOCs with nine countries and Sri Lanka was the seventh in the list. The agreement also includes upgrading the vocation system in Sri Lanka to match Japanese competency standards with special courses being offered for prospective job seekers. To kick-start this training programme, an expert team from Japan will be visiting Sri Lanka shortly to share their technical knowledge with local skilled workers.
Currently, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment is only able to secure jobs for caregivers in Japan but the new agreement paves the way for Sri Lankans to find employment in various other fields while competent migrant workers later would be able to pursue a professional career in the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’.
