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タイ在住11年目、妻はタイ人、娘が2人、養女が2人

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Workers at homes for elderly must be rewarded for skill, experience
介護職人材難　意欲と経験が報われる職場に

A principal goal of the government’s policy of creating a society that enables the dynamic engagement of all citizens is to reduce the number of workers who quit jobs to provide nursing care to zero. Speaking at a meeting of the Yomiuri International Economic Society, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated his policy of building additional special nursing homes for the elderly.
　政府は「１億総活躍社会」の主要目標の一つとして「介護離職ゼロ」を掲げる。安倍首相は読売国際経済懇話会（ＹＩＥＳ）で、特別養護老人ホームの増設を改めて表明した。

But the facilities will be of little use if they do not have enough workers. We want the government panel on creation of a dynamic society to work out practical measures to ensure procurement of such personnel.
　ただ、施設を作っても、そこで働く人が不足していては、十分に機能しない。政府の「１億総活躍国民会議」で、実効性ある人材確保策を練り上げてもらいたい。

The effective opening-to-application ratio for nursing care jobs remains far above 2 to 1. This indicates that the industry faces serious difficulty in securing necessary personnel. Indeed, some operators have been forced to curtail services because of a lack of personnel.
　介護職の有効求人倍率は２倍を大きく超える状況が続いている。人材難は深刻である。職員が集まらず、サービス縮小を余儀なくされる事業者も目立つ。

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry estimates 2.53 million nursing care workers — 800,000 more than exist today — will be required in fiscal 2025, when the first postwar generation of baby boomers will all become 75 years or older. There is likely to be a shortage of 380,000 nursing care workers if the number of such workers continues to increase at the current pace.
　厚生労働省の推計では、団塊の世代が全て７５歳以上になる２０２５年度には、今より８０万人多い２５３万人の介護職員が必要になる。現在の増員ペースでは、３８万人の不足が生じる見込みだ。

The main reason people shun nursing care jobs is the low pay, which now stands at about ¥220,000 a month. This is ¥110,000 less than the average for all industries. A manpower shortage causes a heavy work load, thereby making the job even less popular.
　介護職が敬遠される最大の要因は、賃金の低さだ。平均月給は約２２万円で、全産業平均より１１万円も少ない。人手不足が重労働を招き、不人気に拍車をかける。

In revising the fees for nursing care services in April, the government expanded an added-fee system so that the monthly payment for nursing care workers can be raised by ¥12,000 on average. Administrative checks must be conducted strictly to determine whether pay hikes have been carried out.
　政府は４月の介護報酬改定で、職員の賃金が平均で月１万２０００円アップするように加算制度を拡充した。確実に賃上げが実施されているか、行政は厳格にチェックすべきだ。

Further improvement in conditions for nursing care workers will be indispensable. It is necessary to study measures to secure fiscal resources for that purpose at such forums as the government panel on creation of a dynamic society.
　さらなる処遇改善も不可欠だろう。国民会議などで、財源確保策と併せて検討する必要がある。

Steps to secure personnel

It is also essential to establish a system in which the wages of nursing care workers can be decided according to their experience and skills.
　経験と技能が賃金に結びつく仕組みの確立も重要だ。

Highly specialized skills are required for the treatment of elderly people suffering from dementia. To ensure nursing care workers remain highly motivated, operators should set up a personnel and wage system under which training programs can be carried out systematically and the abilities of workers can be evaluated adequately.
認知症ケアなどでは高い専門性が要求される。職員の意欲が報われるよう、事業者には、計画的な人材育成と能力を適正に評価する人事・賃金システムの整備が求められる。

Support by the central government and municipalities is also indispensable. The Shizuoka prefectural government, for example, presents nursing care operators with pay-scale models based on experience. Kyoto Prefecture has been encouraging efforts by nursing care home operators by setting up a certification system for operators who proactively foster human resources.
　政府や自治体の後押しも欠かせない。静岡県は、キャリアに応じたモデル給与額を事業所に提示している。京都府は、人材育成に積極的な事業所の認証制度を設け、取り組みを促している。

Nursing homes becoming workplaces where workers can see a bright future plan would help prevent the loss of existing workers and make it easier to secure new personnel.
　将来設計が描きやすい職場になれば、離職防止や新たな人材の確保につながろう。

The bill for revision of the Social Welfare Law that was submitted to the previous Diet session called for, among other things, institutionalizing a system that would require nursing care workers to notify administrative authorities if they quit. This is aimed at improving assistance measures by prefectural welfare personnel centers to help them return to work.
　先の国会に提出された社会福祉法改正案には、離職した介護福祉士の届け出制の創設が盛り込まれた。都道府県の福祉人材センターによる復職支援強化が狙いだ。

There are more than 500,000 nonworking certified care workers across the country. We strongly hope that the reform bill will be passed as soon as possible.
　介護職に就いていない介護福祉士は５０万人超に上るだけに、早期成立が望まれる。

The utilization of a diversified human resources, including senior citizens, should be stressed. There are many supplementary jobs at nursing care homes, such as cleaning and catering. The foundation for securing personnel can be broadened if the division of roles of these jobs and jobs requiring high-level skills is clarified and training and other programs are developed in line with such a division.
　高齢者など多様な人材の活用にも目を向けたい。介護職場では、清掃や配膳などの補助的業務も多い。専門性の高い業務と役割分担を明確にし、それに合わせて研修制度などを工夫すれば、人材のすそ野が広がるのではないか。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 10, 2015)