NEW DELHI: A Japanese delegation, representing the country's major skill training companies, met Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday and made an offer of nursing jobs for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir in Japan, officials said.
The representatives of two Japanese companies -- Blue Works International and FA Group -- informed Singh that they have visited the Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences (ASCOMS) Nursing College in Jammu and selected 12 candidates.
The delegation was represented by Yamazaki Takao and Kakuda Tomassadamori.
The recruits will first join the Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP), to be followed by a nursing job in Japan with a salary of over Rs 90,000 per month, an official said.
Out of the 12 candidates selected so far, five are from the Jammu region and seven from the Ladakh region.
This is for the first time that any Japanese company has come to Jammu and Kashmir and directly recruiting candidates for nursing jobs through campus placement, the official said.
The eligibility to be a nursing care worker under this programme is either Class X or the working experience as a nurse for six months or a diploma in nursing.
Singh, the Union Minister for the PMO, received a detailed briefing about the training and placement plans offered by the Japanese professionals, the official said.
The minister expressed delight and satisfaction on the manner in which the new vistas are opening up soon after the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, another official said.
Singh said the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Japan's Ministry of Labour have already signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to exchange technical skills.
He appreciated the initiative taken by the ASCOMS Nursing College to engage with Japanese experts for imparting nursing skills to candidates from Jammu and Kashmir, thereby offering them an opportunity to seek lucrative vocation in the profession.
Singh fondly recalled his association of the last five years with Japan and lauded huge Japanese investments and engagement in the Northeast, particularly in Manipur, where Japan has a strong sentimental affiliation because of thousands of soldiers lost by it during the Second World War.
He said India, culturally and socially, has a number of common priorities, and as developing nations, both the countries have common goals ahead.
Singh hoped that in view of the perpetually ageing society in Japan, nurses from India would be able to supplement shortage of healthcare of the elderly in that country, the official said.