Today BOW
will provide information about Japan's National Nursing Care examination (介護福祉士国家試験)
for experienced nurses who meet the conditions to take the exam. After
achieving the national Nursing Care certificate, you can switch to a Nursing
Care visa and gain more benefits in the Nursing Care industry than the Specified
Skilled Worker visa in the Nursing Care industry.
1. The only National Certificate in Nursing Care
Japanese National
Nursing Care Certification is related to Nursing Care and is the only national
certification for Nursing Care in Japan. Anyone, both Japanese and foreigners,
who wants to work in a Japanese hospital as a Nursing Care Worker, must pass
this exam and obtain a National Nursing
Care certificate. This is a certificate organized by the Ministry of Health,
Labor and Welfare, once a year, around mid-February. The pass rate for the 36th
Certified Care Worker National Examination held in 2024 was 82.8%. The pass
rate is on the rise and has been over 80% for the past two years.
The job of a Nursing
Care Worker who achieved national Nursing Care certification is to assist the
elderly in need of nursing care, such as eating, bathing, excretion, and
mobility so that the elderly can live a daily life comfortably. Their primary
job is to provide advice in response to consultations with uncertified Care
workers and to provide support to those workers.
2. Routes for foreigners to become care workers
・EPA
route
This is a
method to enter the country as an EPA care worker candidate, gain three years
of practical experience in a care facility, and then take the exam.
EPA care
worker candidates are people who aim to obtain the Japanese national
certification as a care worker while working and training in a Japanese care
facility based on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). They come from
three countries: Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The working period is
four years.
・Training
facility route
This is a
method to obtain qualification by passing the National Examination for Care Workers
after acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills at a care worker training
facility (a vocational school of two years or more). The standard course is to
enter a Japanese language school on a student visa, study Japanese for one or
two years, and then enter a vocational school to be trained as a Care worker.
To enter a vocational school, you need Japanese language ability at the N2
level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).
・Work
experience route
This is a way
to qualify to take the Certified Care Worker Examination by having at least
three years (1,095 days) of work experience in a care facility and taking
practical training.
Facilities
recognized as places to gain work experience include social welfare facilities,
hospitals, and clinics. You must work as a care worker or care worker at these
facilities. Even if you work at a facility other than a social welfare
facility, hospital, or clinic, if the people you care for are elderly or
disabled and you work as a care worker or visiting care worker, this will be
recognized as work experience.
3. National nursing certification exam questions over the years
The National
Care Worker examination consists of a written exam and a practical exam, which
are held once a year. The examination fee for the National Nursing Care Examination
is 15,300 yen. The passing standard for the written exam is to score about 60%
of the total points in all subjects.
The contents
of the written exam are Human Beings and Society (human dignity and
independence, human relationships and communication, understanding society),
Care (basics of care, communication skills, life support skills, care process),
Mind and body functions (understanding development and aging, understanding
dementia, understanding disabilities, mind, and body functions), and Medical
Care (medical care).
You can refer
to the exam questions of the national nursing exam over the years here:
4. Nursing Care Visa for Nursing care workers with a National Nursing Care Certificate
To transfer to a Nursing Care visa, you need to gain more than three
years of practical experience at a care facility or business and pass the National Examination for care workers. Technical Training interns are normally completed in five years, and you are required to return to your home country, but if you obtain
a care worker qualification after the third year and transfer to a care visa,
you can work in Japan permanently. Similarly, the maximum period of stay for
Specified Skilled Worker No.1 is five
years, but you can obtain a care worker qualification after the third year and
transfer to a Nursing Care
visa.
5. Conclusion
For those who intend or are currently
working in the Nursing Care field, the National Nursing Care
certification exam is the optimal
choice if you want to pursue this career long-term. When you achieve a national
Nursing Care Certificate, you can apply to switch to a Nursing Care visa and
live and work indefinitely in Japan.
In addition, the National Nursing Care certificate
will help you develop your career in the Nursing Care industry in
Japan. Please contact BOW to find nursing care jobs to gain experience in this industry to be eligible to take the
national nursing care
certification exam.
