Learning their needs: Two students studying nursing care speak with a man who was evacuated to a school after his nursing care center in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was hit by a mudslide July 21. Kyodo Photo
People who have experience as care assistants but have worked in other fields are beginning to return amid the tough employment situation.
But the long-standing problem of low wages for hard physical work, which includes night shifts and assisting people with bathing and going to the toilet, continues.
Care assistants receive lower wages than people working in other industries. The monthly pay for a male care assistant was ¥120,000 below the average in 2007.
The number of care assistants in fiscal 2008 was estimated at around 1.31 million. It is estimated that an additional 190,000 workers will be needed in fiscal 2011.
"Until last year, there was no response to our job offers. But now applications are steadily increasing," said a 41-year-old director of a nursing home in Yokohama.
His view was echoed by another employer in the industry: "I've often heard from facilities that have looked into the possibility of accepting Indonesians and Filipinos that they no longer feel the need."
Such workers can come into Japan through bilateral economic partnership agreements.
Due to the global recession in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September, the job market has deteriorated rapidly and the seasonally adjusted job offers-to-seekers ratio for all industries hit a record low of 0.43 in June.
But in the nursing care field, the ratio remained above 2 even after last September, an indication that even if employers were trying very hard to employ care assistants, the number of applicants was still limited.
The ratio began to decline from the turn of the year and fell below 2 in March. The number of people looking for jobs in nursing care came to around 71,000 in June, compared with about 44,000 in December, an increase of around 60 percent.
"It appears people are flocking to the field of care assistants from other industries where employment conditions are severe," said an official at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
But some employers deny this means more people are being accepted without having experience in the field. In fact, many applications are received from people who have graduated from care worker training schools and those who left the field, they said.
Meanwhile, local governments are also implementing measures to secure care assistants.
In March, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began a program to provide free lectures to jobless and low income people to help them attain the qualification of "helper second level," which would help them get a job in the field. Around 100 people had obtained the qualification as of early July, and 50 of those have found work in the field.
"There are many examples of housewives seeking to get the qualification to support their families because their husbands' incomes are decreasing drastically," said the official in charge of the metropolitan government's program. Interest in the field is increasing, with more than 1,000 people hoping to attend the lectures, he added.
On the other hand, some employers are concerned about whether they will be able to recruit enough care assistants. "The number of people quitting shows no signs of declining significantly," said an employer in the city of Kyoto. The turnover rate is high, hitting 18.7 percent in fiscal 2008.
In April, the central government raised the nursing care benefit paid to operators of facilities by 3 percent. It also decided to provide monthly subsidies of ¥15,000 per employee for 2 1/2 years from October to employers who pledge to increase wages. But only a few employers have improved their employees' lot.
The 3 percent increase in the nursing care benefit is like a "drop of water on a hot stone" for medium-size and small facilities. Quite a few employers are choosing to wait until the benefit is actually paid and are reluctant to raise wages because the measure is temporary.
A welfare management consultant in Tokyo said: "People will leave the field unless the way they are treated improves. Employers should make better efforts and think this is the last chance to select excellent personnel." [rc]
(C) The Japan Times Ltd.
August 12, 2009
JAPAN: Caregiver field now finds takers
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TOKYO, Japan / The Japan Times / Economy / August 12, 2009
Conditions still harsh but shortage seen easing as recession idles ranks in other industries
By Haruko Mera, Kyodo News
There are emerging signs that the serious shortage in care assistants is abating, as statistics show the field's job offers-to-seekers ratio fell from 2.53 in December to 1.28 in June.
Learning their needs: Two students studying nursing care speak with a man who was evacuated to a school after his nursing care center in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was hit by a mudslide July 21. Kyodo Photo
People who have experience as care assistants but have worked in other fields are beginning to return amid the tough employment situation.
But the long-standing problem of low wages for hard physical work, which includes night shifts and assisting people with bathing and going to the toilet, continues.
Care assistants receive lower wages than people working in other industries. The monthly pay for a male care assistant was ¥120,000 below the average in 2007.
The number of care assistants in fiscal 2008 was estimated at around 1.31 million. It is estimated that an additional 190,000 workers will be needed in fiscal 2011.
"Until last year, there was no response to our job offers. But now applications are steadily increasing," said a 41-year-old director of a nursing home in Yokohama.
His view was echoed by another employer in the industry: "I've often heard from facilities that have looked into the possibility of accepting Indonesians and Filipinos that they no longer feel the need."
Such workers can come into Japan through bilateral economic partnership agreements.
Due to the global recession in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September, the job market has deteriorated rapidly and the seasonally adjusted job offers-to-seekers ratio for all industries hit a record low of 0.43 in June.
But in the nursing care field, the ratio remained above 2 even after last September, an indication that even if employers were trying very hard to employ care assistants, the number of applicants was still limited.
The ratio began to decline from the turn of the year and fell below 2 in March. The number of people looking for jobs in nursing care came to around 71,000 in June, compared with about 44,000 in December, an increase of around 60 percent.
"It appears people are flocking to the field of care assistants from other industries where employment conditions are severe," said an official at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
But some employers deny this means more people are being accepted without having experience in the field. In fact, many applications are received from people who have graduated from care worker training schools and those who left the field, they said.
Meanwhile, local governments are also implementing measures to secure care assistants.
In March, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began a program to provide free lectures to jobless and low income people to help them attain the qualification of "helper second level," which would help them get a job in the field. Around 100 people had obtained the qualification as of early July, and 50 of those have found work in the field.
"There are many examples of housewives seeking to get the qualification to support their families because their husbands' incomes are decreasing drastically," said the official in charge of the metropolitan government's program. Interest in the field is increasing, with more than 1,000 people hoping to attend the lectures, he added.
On the other hand, some employers are concerned about whether they will be able to recruit enough care assistants. "The number of people quitting shows no signs of declining significantly," said an employer in the city of Kyoto. The turnover rate is high, hitting 18.7 percent in fiscal 2008.
In April, the central government raised the nursing care benefit paid to operators of facilities by 3 percent. It also decided to provide monthly subsidies of ¥15,000 per employee for 2 1/2 years from October to employers who pledge to increase wages. But only a few employers have improved their employees' lot.
The 3 percent increase in the nursing care benefit is like a "drop of water on a hot stone" for medium-size and small facilities. Quite a few employers are choosing to wait until the benefit is actually paid and are reluctant to raise wages because the measure is temporary.
A welfare management consultant in Tokyo said: "People will leave the field unless the way they are treated improves. Employers should make better efforts and think this is the last chance to select excellent personnel." [rc]
(C) The Japan Times Ltd.
Learning their needs: Two students studying nursing care speak with a man who was evacuated to a school after his nursing care center in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was hit by a mudslide July 21. Kyodo Photo
People who have experience as care assistants but have worked in other fields are beginning to return amid the tough employment situation.
But the long-standing problem of low wages for hard physical work, which includes night shifts and assisting people with bathing and going to the toilet, continues.
Care assistants receive lower wages than people working in other industries. The monthly pay for a male care assistant was ¥120,000 below the average in 2007.
The number of care assistants in fiscal 2008 was estimated at around 1.31 million. It is estimated that an additional 190,000 workers will be needed in fiscal 2011.
"Until last year, there was no response to our job offers. But now applications are steadily increasing," said a 41-year-old director of a nursing home in Yokohama.
His view was echoed by another employer in the industry: "I've often heard from facilities that have looked into the possibility of accepting Indonesians and Filipinos that they no longer feel the need."
Such workers can come into Japan through bilateral economic partnership agreements.
Due to the global recession in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September, the job market has deteriorated rapidly and the seasonally adjusted job offers-to-seekers ratio for all industries hit a record low of 0.43 in June.
But in the nursing care field, the ratio remained above 2 even after last September, an indication that even if employers were trying very hard to employ care assistants, the number of applicants was still limited.
The ratio began to decline from the turn of the year and fell below 2 in March. The number of people looking for jobs in nursing care came to around 71,000 in June, compared with about 44,000 in December, an increase of around 60 percent.
"It appears people are flocking to the field of care assistants from other industries where employment conditions are severe," said an official at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
But some employers deny this means more people are being accepted without having experience in the field. In fact, many applications are received from people who have graduated from care worker training schools and those who left the field, they said.
Meanwhile, local governments are also implementing measures to secure care assistants.
In March, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began a program to provide free lectures to jobless and low income people to help them attain the qualification of "helper second level," which would help them get a job in the field. Around 100 people had obtained the qualification as of early July, and 50 of those have found work in the field.
"There are many examples of housewives seeking to get the qualification to support their families because their husbands' incomes are decreasing drastically," said the official in charge of the metropolitan government's program. Interest in the field is increasing, with more than 1,000 people hoping to attend the lectures, he added.
On the other hand, some employers are concerned about whether they will be able to recruit enough care assistants. "The number of people quitting shows no signs of declining significantly," said an employer in the city of Kyoto. The turnover rate is high, hitting 18.7 percent in fiscal 2008.
In April, the central government raised the nursing care benefit paid to operators of facilities by 3 percent. It also decided to provide monthly subsidies of ¥15,000 per employee for 2 1/2 years from October to employers who pledge to increase wages. But only a few employers have improved their employees' lot.
The 3 percent increase in the nursing care benefit is like a "drop of water on a hot stone" for medium-size and small facilities. Quite a few employers are choosing to wait until the benefit is actually paid and are reluctant to raise wages because the measure is temporary.
A welfare management consultant in Tokyo said: "People will leave the field unless the way they are treated improves. Employers should make better efforts and think this is the last chance to select excellent personnel." [rc]
(C) The Japan Times Ltd.
