Preparatory study for the training had included the Action Plan Lecture video‚ so I was able to start guiding the participants as soon as the course began. The various videos are the products of the online training we have held over the past two years to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections‚ and they have made the running of the course much more efficient. The participants studied diligently and the course got off to a good start. However‚ immediately after that we heard from a training site that they wanted to switch to online training as COVID-19 infections had been detected within the company. It was dealt with smoothly as it was not a totally unexpected event‚ and face-to-face lectures later continued as scheduled. The instructors had not provided face-to-face training for a while‚ and there was a welcome return to familiar scenes such as individual consultations‚ and requests for advice from the various countries‚ both during and outside teaching hours.

At the training sites we visited after that as well‚ the participants could experience the on-site situation at first-hand instead of via the online training and videos they had utilized so far‚ and they keenly asked many questions. I could sense the enthusiasm in the structures set up to welcome the participants at the sites we visited.

One of the companies had stipulated that we had to have taken PCR tests within the week prior to our visit‚ and one of the participants tested positive. JICA and KITA had previously discussed how to manage a crisis such as this. We maintained two-way communication and took appropriate care of the participants‚ alleviating any anxiety they might feel and enabling them to continue with their training.

The first thing we did was to revise the schedule thanks to the flexible and positive response of the training sites; we called off the upcoming two-day training visit‚ switched to online lectures‚ and postponed the training visits until the following week. I am immensely grateful to the training institute in the suburbs who went to the trouble of streaming online for the participant who had tested positive and was unable to go there in person. That participant tested negative in the early morning of the sixth day and was able to rejoin the group for training as usual. Regardless of all that‚ the participants enjoyed their training and left for their home countries in good health after the ceremony at the end of the course.

Despite the restriction on staying overnight at anywhere other than JICA Kyushu‚ the participants did enjoy day trips during their five-week stay. I hope they will have fond memories of their time with us.

The title of this article‚ “La educación es amor‚” is a phrase I learned from an instructor. I think it is a good precept for any mentor‚ regardless of whether or not they are involved in vocational training.