December 22 2019: Earlier this month, some 800 students took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at Sona College of Technology in Salem, Tamil Nadu. Till now the test centres were restricted to large metro cities only. And until December 1, 2019 even candidates from as far as Kochi had to travel to Chennai for the test. With the Salem centre coming up the distance has been cut down significantly.
Interest in learning Japanese language has grown significantly since the Japanese government opened up opportunities for attracting fresh IT Engineers and skilled workers in multiple trades from India and other countries. As a resulting of aging population, Japanese government has signalled its intention to welcome 8,45,000 skilled foreign workers into the country by 2025. This has led to engineering institutions, especially in South India, to introduce Japanese language training for their students. National Skill Development Corporation has appointed institutions like Sona Yukti the skilling arm of the Sona Group, as a sending organisation for the Japanese Government’s ‘Technical Intern Training Program’ (TITP). Salem is the eighth centre in India authorised by the Japan Foundation to conduct the JPLT.
It has ambitions to send at least 100,000 skilled workers proficient in Japanese language to the land of the rising sun. Knowing the language is an absolute imperative to find work in Japan.
The Internship program ranges from one to five years and covers sector specific skills and training in Japanese language and culture followed by on-job training component in Japan.

The College now offers Japanese language as part of its B.E./B.Tech curriculum with the approval of Board of Studies (BOS). Over 700 students from the first year have enrolled to learn Japanese, and they will get one additional credit for this added proficiency. Apart from providing guidance to carry out higher studies in top ranked Japanese Universities, the College also conducts various seminars and guest lectures on Japanese work culture, way of life and the country’s need for trained manpower