THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Japan-based OISCA International and OISCA Bago Training Center (OBTC) for a three-month Japanese language and culture training of nine Negrense scholars bound for Japan.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson signed the agreement with OISCA International Secretary General Yasuaki Nagaishi and OISCA Bago Training Center Director Shigemi Watanabe in a virtual meeting at the Governor’s Office in Bacolod City on Monday, November 15.

The program is a pioneering collaboration between the Provincial Government and OISCA International on education and employment for highly-skilled young Negrense professionals.

The Provincial Government, in a statement, said the scholarship program is aimed at providing opportunities to Negrenses to be able to study and eventually work in Japan by honing their skills in Japanese language and culture.

Under the agreement, the Provincial Government will set and allocate budget for the Japanese language course at OISCA Bago Training Center on a “study now, pay later” scheme as pre-departure training required by Japan.

It will also provide assistance for visa processing and Japanese Proficiency Test.

The OISCA International will take charge of the processing of the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) and working visa of the qualified scholars.

It will look for companies interested in assisting the scholars with a three-month JLPT in preparation for the N3 examination, matching these companies with the education, training and skills of the scholars they want to hire, and provide airfares of the scholars to Japan.

For its part, OBTC will facilitate the venue, food accommodation and Japanese language training in the province.

Watanabe expressed his gratitude to the governor for supporting the program intended for the young professionals.

He said that the screening process of OISCA International was very rigid although it was done virtually because the applicants must meet the qualification standards required by the companies.

Nagaishi said OISCA was established in 1961 and this year, the organization marks its 60th Anniversary.

The organization, he said, celebrates various programs they have initiated like youth development, agriculture, children’s forest program and reforestation in the Philippines.

Japan is currently facing a shortage of manpower while Philippines has excess of qualified professionals willing to work there, Nagaishi said, adding that “this program is beneficial to both Japan and Philippines.”

The MOA signing, meanwhile, was facilitated by the Negros Occidental Scholarship Program Division led by Karen Dinsay who also presented the rationale of the program to the attendees.