【Consider lifting the ban on home-visit nursing care by foreign workers】
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to review the rules for accepting foreign workers in the nursing care field. By considering lifting the ban on home-visit nursing care by foreign workers, which is currently not permitted, the aim is to expand the nursing care work that foreigners can engage in and alleviate the labor shortage in the nursing care field.
In 2017, nursing care was added as a target industry for the practical skill system, and in 2019, due to the status of residence “specified skilled worker” for 12 industries such as nursing care, foreign human resources working at special nursing homes etc which tends to increase. As of the end of October 2022, there are a total of 54,161 foreign workers working in the welfare industry such as nursing care.
However, currently, due to concerns about communication in Japanese with users, foreign workers are not permitted to work at home-visit nursing homes, fee-based nursing homes, or housing for the elderly with monitoring services.
On the other hand, the shortage of workers at nursing care sites is currently becoming more serious, and as of February 2023, the effective job openings-to-applicants ratio for nursing care services as a whole is 3.58 times, and for home-visit nursing care services is 14.99 times. This is 1.27 times compared to all other industries.
Against the backdrop of this shortage of workers, the nursing care industry is calling for lifting the ban on home-visit nursing care by foreign workers. In light of this situation, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to revise working rules in the direction of expanding nursing care work that foreign workers can engage in.
However, if there are no Japanese staff around for home-visit nursing care, there is concern that the lack of Japanese language proficiency of the foreign staff will hinder the work. Therefore, it is expected that the conditions for lifting the ban will be the focus when considering.
Currently, discussions are underway within the government at an expert panel to consider revising the foreign technical intern training system, and the policy is to compile a final report by this autumn. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare plans to determine the content and timing of the review based on the conclusions of the meeting and opinions from industry groups in the nursing care field.
Quote source
[ https://kjtimes.jp/headline/ ]
【外国人材による訪問介護の就労解禁を検討】
厚生労働省が、介護分野で働く外国人材の受け入れルールについて見直す方針を固めました。現状認められていない外国人材による訪問介護の解禁を検討することで、外国人材が従事できる介護業務を拡大し、介護分野での働き手不足を緩和する狙いです。
技能実技制度の対象業種として介護が2017年に追加され、さらに2019年に始まった、介護など12業種を対象とする在留資格「特定技能」により、特別養護老人ホームなどで働く外国人材が現状では増えている傾向にあります。2022年10月末現在では、介護などの福祉業界で働く外国人材は全体で5万4161人にも上ります。
ただし、現状は利用者との日本語による意思疎通の懸念から、外国人材が利用者の自宅に赴く訪問介護や有料老人ホーム、見守りサービス付きの高齢者向け住宅などでの勤務は認められていません。
一方で、現在介護現場での働き手の不足は深刻化しており、2023年2月時点での介護サービス全体の有効求人倍率は3.58倍で、訪問介護サービスでは14.99倍となっており、他業種全職平均の1.27倍を大きく上回ることになるのです。
介護業界からは、この働き手の不足問題を背景に、外国人材による訪問介護の就労解禁を求める声が上がっています。こうした状況を踏まえ、厚生労働省は外国人材が従事できる介護業務を拡大する方向での就労ルールの見直しを行うことにしました。
しかし、訪問介護で周囲に日本人のスタッフがいない場合に、外国人材の日本語能力が不十分だと、業務に支障をきたすことが懸念されます。そのため、検討するにあたって解禁条件などが焦点となる見通しです。
現在、政府内では外国人技能実習制度などの見直しを検討するための有識者会議の議論が進められており、今秋をめどに最終報告書がまとめられる方針です。その会議の結論や、介護分野の業界団体などからの意見を踏まえ、厚生労働省は見直しの内容や時期を判断する予定です。
引用元
[ https://kjtimes.jp/headline/ ]