SHILLONG: Twenty-seven nurses, who turned up at Meghalaya’s Overseas Nursing Job Fair last year, have been offered opportunities to work in various hospitals and care homes in Japan after receiving language training under the state government’s Skill Meghalaya initiative.
“It is great to see nurses from the state move out and serve people overseas. We are sending them with blessings and hope to hear positive stories about them. I also urge others to come forward and take the opportunity not only to earn a livelihood overseas but also, to enhance their knowledge and career,” chief minister Conrad K Sangma said, according to a state government statement. He was speaking at an event where he met with the teachers and students involved with the initiative.
Under the “Skills Meghalaya” scheme, the Meghalaya government foots expenses up to Rs. 50,000 for each candidate through the Meghalaya State Skill Development Society (MSSDS). This initiative aims to cover 300 nurses in the coming years.
Laikyrmen Khardewsaw from Ri Bhoi district’s Khlieh Umtrew village described her journey from her village to Japan as a “difficult one with many challenges. Yet through it all, God was with me, my family, loved ones and my friends were with me who keep motivating me from time to time and who have made this journey a beautiful one.”
The “Skills Meghalaya” initiative, under which the nurses received language training, aims to equip the youth with additional skills. The program, organised by MSSDS and the Department of Health & Family Welfare, collaborates with potential firms to provide language training and job placement opportunities.
A total of 27 nurses registered with NAVIS for language training and cultural immersion in Bengaluru and have received employment offers.
Five nurses have already received their visas, and two left for Japan on May 27. Another 14 nurses have been placed in various institutes in Singapore through a different agency. They will join in about 3 months.
The Japanese language training was conducted by 10 teachers at NAVIS.
Over a thousand nurses had registered for the nursing job fair held in August 2023. Four firms, including NAVIS, were identified and MoUs signed in December 2023 to facilitate language training and job placements in countries such as Japan, the UK, Singapore, and the UAE.
