Ople, who attended the meetings held in Osaka, joined the official delegation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Tokyo on Feb. 8, 2023.
The TITP aims to accept workers from various countries to acquire industrial and vocational skills in Japan to contribute to the improvement of their occupational lives when they return to their home countries.
The SSW, meanwhile, allows the Japanese government to recruit qualified foreign workers to fill employment quotas in 14 industrial fields.
Filipino workers in Japan assured Ople that they are being treated well. They said they would prefer to continue to work in Japan if allowed by the Japanese government and their employers.
"Our employers are kind. Sometimes, they even bring food for us," an employee of Super Court told Ople.
A Japan desk will be established in the Office of the Secretary to fast-track the needs of both Japanese employers and Filipino trainees, Ople said.
"We want to build stronger relations with Japanese employers and the Japanese government so that the Philippines can be the number one source of skilled workers in Japan," she added.
Salaries of workers in Japan range from ¥130,000 yen or equivalent to P54,548 per month for entry level TITP trainees and up to ¥900,000 or equivalent to P377,640 for specialized positions for highly skilled professionals.
Ople likewise noted the major challenge is in hurdling the language proficiency test while already working in Japan.
However, she explained this need is being addressed by the Preparatory Japanese-Language Training (PJLT) program under the existing Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
The PJLT is a language learning intervention mechanism which requires candidates to undergo a 6-month intensive training on Japanese language basics.
This Japanese language proficiency program allows a worker to qualify under the SSW program where he must either pass the Japanese language exams and the skills exam corresponding to his chosen industry, or have practical experience in the industry as a previous technical intern with training experience or with a minimum of three years of technical intern training.
"We will look into these bottlenecks and obstacles and try to untangle them one by one. Japan has proven to be a reliable partner in overseas employment," Ople said.
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