The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday warned Filipinos seeking job opportunities in Japan that Japanese language training centers are not authorized to recruit others for overseas work.
DMW Officer-in-Charge Bernard P. Olalia in a statement said that language instruction for employees should only take place following their completion of the pre-qualification and selection procedures carried out by their Japanese employers.
He also said that companies and not applicants should pay for the training.
“Candidates will be directed to language training centers only after they submit the required documents and undergo the selection process by Japanese employers. This is part of the deployment process for the Technical Internship Training Program (TITP) and the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program, not for employment referrals,” Olalia said.
The DMW said the warning is part of the government’s continuing drive to safeguard would-be overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from exploitative illegal recruiters who are preying on the vulnerability of Filipino job seekers.
“Under Republic Act No. 8042, Section 6, illegal recruitment involves any act of referring, promising, or advertising for overseas employment by individuals or entities that lack the necessary license or authority from the DMW, regardless of whether these actions are conducted for profit,” Olalia said.
The DMW recently shut down Hikari Japanese Learning Center Corp head office in Panabo City, Davao Del Norte, along with its branches in Manila, Rosario, Cavite, Davao City, and General Santos City for illegally recruiting vulnerable Filipino job seekers to Japan.