Current Directions of Foreign Care Workers in Taiwan: Implications for Long-Term Care Policy

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K02087
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 08020:Social welfare-related
• Research Institution: Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts
• Principal Investigator: MIYAMOTO Yoshinobu 同志社女子大学, 生活科学部, 教授 (00182056)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 台湾の社会福祉 / 外国人介護労働者 / 外国人居宅介護ヘルパー / 長期介護サービス法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study is to present detailed information about the recent trends and current working condition of home-caregivers from Southeast Asia who work in Taiwan. Currently, there are about 250,000 migrant long-term care workers, with 92.8% of them being home-caregivers. Almost all of them are beginner level care workers. With the enforcement of the Long-Term Care Service Law in 2017, the working environment of home-caregivers has started to undergone significant change. Based on the field survey, the study shows three findings: (1) The demand for beginner level foreign home-caregivers is decreasing through the tightening and unifying of caregiver qualifications; (2) The demand for the foreign outreach care workers with midrange skills is expanding as a result of government policy; (3) To solve the institutional challenges that foreign care workers are facing, the government has changed its policy to secure foreign personnel with midrange skills.

Free Research Field

社会福祉学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本では2017年「外国人技能実習制度」の対象職種に介護職種が追加された。本制度の導入は、ミドル・スキルの国外の労働者をターゲットとしたものである。日本は現行では労働力としての受け入れを否定し、一方の台湾は積極的に労働市場の中に位置づける違いはあるが、能力開発の機会を提供しながら、中間技能のアジア人材を積極的に活用しようとする点で共通した方向性を持っている。こうした競合関係の強まりを考慮すると、日本は台湾と同様に、アジアの新興国に対し長期的な人材の流入国であり続けることは、必ずしも容易ではない。本研究から、今後の日本の外国人介護労働者のあり方を展望するうえで多くの示唆が得られるものと考える。