As the date as to when the country will officially open its doors under a new immigration scheme for foreign workers approaches, the government is making sure that all areas and systems will be all set to accommodate the needs of the incoming foreign nationals, and to ensure that their stay in the country will bring fruits as desired by the national government.
Among the requirements set under the new visa status for foreign workers is that they must be able to adopt the language as evidenced by passing the language proficiency test given by the government.
Gov’t to Develop New Certification Program to Uphold Teaching Standards for Incoming Foreign Workers
In line with this, the Japanese government aims to establish a nationally recognized accreditation for native language teachers who will handle the teaching of the Japanese language to foreign workers as Japan prepares to welcome them in a flurry of numbers, as shared in a report by Nikkei.
The certification program, as drafted by a government committee last Monday (March 4), is expected to start as early as fiscal year 2020.
Based on the legislation taking effect in April, Japan will offer new residency visa statuses that will alow blue-collar workers enter and stay in the country by themselves, and higher skilled foreigners to bring their family to the country.
This development intends to open long-term or permanent residency, aimed to ease the country’s labour shortage, and increase the need for Japanese language education to help foreigners adapt into work and life in the country.
At present, Japan lacks an official benchmark for Japanese language teaching skills, and many classes outside metropolitan areas are only covered by volunteers.
The proposed certification program is also meant to boost the appeal of teaching Japanese as a second language by developing it into a specialist role, which could also mean better pay, ideally.