Nursing graduates in West Sumatra have opportunities to work in Japan and Germany

Working abroad is one of the hopes because of the lack of job opportunities in West Sumatra.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

Nursing students and alumni from several universities attended a Socialization of Overseas Job Opportunities for the G to G Program in Japan and Germany, organized by BP3MI West Sumatra in Padang, West Sumatra, on Tuesday (30/4/2024).

PADANG, KOMPAS — Nursing graduates from universities in West Sumatra have the opportunity to work in Japan and Germany through the G to G collaboration. This opportunity to work abroad is an effort to reduce the high unemployment rate in the province.

Job opportunities in the two countries are a government to government (G to G) program between the Indonesian Government and the governments of the two countries. Job registration in Japan in the XVIII batch opens February 1-May 31 2024, while in Germany the first period or V batch opens February 7-April 30 2024.

"We are implementing this program in West Sumatra, especially Padang City, because we see the potential for many nursing graduates, but have not yet found decent work," said Bayu Aryadhi, Head of the Center for Protection Services Indonesian Migrant Workers ( BP3MI) West Sumatra, on the sidelines of the Socialization Overseas Job Opportunities of the Japanese and German G to G Program in Padang, Tuesday (30/4/2024).

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Bayu explained that the Japanese G to G program is the result of collaboration between the Indonesian Government (BP2MI) and the Japanese Government (JICWELS) and started in 2008. This program opens up job opportunities for university graduates in Indonesia to work as nurses. and elderly nurses (careworkers).

Meanwhile, the German G to G program which recruits nurses is a Triple Win program based on an agreement between the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI) and the Bundesagentur fuer Arbeit(BA)Germany regarding the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Health Workers in Germany on 16 and 26 July 2021.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

The Head of the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Service Office (BP3MI) of West Sumatra, Bayu Aryadhi, at his office in Padang, West Sumatra, on Wednesday (3/5/2023).

In Japan's G to G scheme, said Bayu, there are already 38 Indonesian migrant workers from West Sumatra working in Japan as nurses or elderly caregivers, namely 12 people in 2021, 13 people in 2022, and 13 people in 2023. As for the German G to G scheme, there are three prospective migrant workers from West Sumatra who are in the process of taking German language training.

According to Bayu, nurses will be placed in hospitals, while elderly care nurses will be placed in nursing homes. "(Aside from providing employment opportunities,) the advantage of working abroad is that salaries are higher compared to those in the country. For instance, elderly care nurses, even without work experience, may already receive a salary of around Rp 20 million," he said.

Bayu continued, the requirements to become a nurse in Japan include a D-3 or Bachelor's degree in nursing with two years of work experience. Meanwhile, to become an elderly nurse, you must have at least a D-3 in nursing or another major, but you must have a care worker certificate from a training institution. Prospective workers must also have a Japanese language certificate at N5 level, the lowest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

"We, as the government (through BP3MI), collaborate with the provincial and city governments, together with the institute and local government, along with BPVP (Vocational Training and Productivity Institute) Padang to provide Japanese language training (for prospective workers) through the APBN funding, so it is entirely free," he said.

It is our obligation to find work opportunities for them, including abroad.

Absorb graduates

Assistant II of the Padang City Regional Secretariat, Didi Aryadi, said that the G to G program had a positive impact on the employment of college graduates in Padang, including nursing majors. Padang as an educational city produces many college graduates every year.

According to Didi, every year nearly 1,000 graduates from health universities in Padang are produced. However, all of these graduates have not been absorbed due to the lack of industries. Overall, the open unemployment rate in Padang reaches 10.86 percent.

"It is our obligation to find job opportunities for them, including overseas," he said. Didi added that apart from earning a bigger income, working experience abroad would also be very useful when returning to Indonesia.

Also read: Placement of Indonesian Migrant Workers in 2023 Reaches 273,747 People

Ari Irsan (30), a participant in the G to G program, said that he has been working as an elderly nurse in Japan since June 27 2022. This graduate of the STIKes Ranah Minang Padang nursing major was interested in joining the program because it was difficult to get service work in West Sumatra.

According to Ari, he is relatively comfortable working in Japan with a decent salary, around Rp 20 million to Rp 25 million per month. "Every month, I can send money to my younger sibling and parents," he said through a teleconference from Japan during a socialization event in Padang.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

The Head of the West Sumatra Department of Labor and Transmigration, Nizam Ul Muluk (center), accompanied by the Head of BP3MI West Sumatra, Bayu Aryadhi (left), and the Second Assistant of Padang City Government, Didi Aryadi, in Padang, West Sumatra, on Tuesday (April 30, 2024).

The head of the West Sumatra Manpower and Transmigration Office, Nizam Ul Muluk, said that overseas work programs do have leverage. This is one way out of the lack of job opportunities and high unemployment rate in West Sumatra, which reached 5.94 percent in 2023, higher than the national average of 5.2 percent.

"West Sumatra doesn't have many factories, nor does it have potential natural resources like those in North Maluku, Southeast Sulawesi, and Central Sulawesi. When there is cooperation initiated by the West Sumatra BP3MI and Padang City Government, we appreciate it," he said.

He added that the distribution of labor is the autonomy of the city and district governments, while the provincial government provides support and supervision.

Overall, according to Nizam, West Sumatra has sent 2,000 Indonesian migrant workers with various schemes since 2022, including to Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Bulgaria, and Germany. They work as nurses, construction workers, workers in the field of technology and information, and others.

“In Australia, there is light work such as apple picking, sheep herding, and fish farming. We have been open for a year through the holiday visa program, namely a work visa while traveling, with a salary of around IDR 30 million per month. However, the year it opened, only 36 people graduated. "Our graduates' mastery of English is still weak," he said.