How to Join OEC's Japanese Language Course in Islamabad or Lahore: Rs 10,000, Age 18 to 39
OEC Japanese language training costs Rs 10,000 in Islamabad and Lahore for skilled workers aged 18 to 39. Rules, timings, venues and the free registration link.
OEC runs a Japanese language training course for skilled workers aged 18 to 39 at its centres in Islamabad and Lahore. The full course costs Rs 10,000, non-refundable, runs about two and three-quarter months in a morning or afternoon session, and you register free at jobs.oec.gov.pk/jlt_form. Passing the basic course earns a free 45-day advanced course. It is a language class, not a job offer, and OEC says so in its own notice.
We read the Urdu advertisement and the registration page on the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) website on 19 October 2026. The notice sits on OEC's announcements board with an open-ended deadline, and the corporation describes the course as part of a Pakistan-Japan agreement to send skilled workers, for whom basic Japanese is a requirement.
You need to be 18 to 39, middle pass and trained in a trade
Three conditions sit on the notice. Age 18 to 39. Education at least middle, which is class eight. And a technical qualification: a certificate or diploma from a government-recognised institute in one of the trades on OEC's list, or a one-year certificate, plus at least one year of work experience in the same trade.
| Requirement | What OEC's notice says |
|---|---|
| Age | 18 to 39 years |
| Basic education | Middle pass at minimum |
| Technical training | Certificate or diploma from a government-recognised institute in a listed trade, or a one-year certificate |
| Experience | At least one year in the trade of the certificate |
| Fee | Rs 10,000 for the full course, non-refundable |
| Registration | Free, online only, at jobs.oec.gov.pk/jlt_form |
The notice also lists who cannot join. People with a physical disability, including missing fingers on hands or feet, spine problems, and colour blindness, are not eligible. OEC applies those exclusions at registration, before any fee is paid.
Classes run in Islamabad and Lahore, morning or afternoon, for about 11 weeks
Two venues are named. In Islamabad, the OEC Centre of Excellence at the PMI Auditorium Building, Zero Point. In Lahore, the OEC regional office inside the Government Staff Training College and Government Technical Training Institute, Centre of Excellence, 4 West, Main Road, Mughalpura.
Each day has two sessions. The morning session runs 9:00 am to 12:30 pm and the afternoon session 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm, and you pick one. The notice puts the course length at pounay teen mahinay, about two and three-quarter months, which is roughly eleven weeks of three and a half hour classes. Students who pass the basic course are given a 45-day advanced course by OEC at no charge.
Classes are formed in batches as candidates qualify, so registering does not fix a start date. OEC shortlists from the online forms and tells shortlisted people by phone or email. If you are weighing it against the free NAVTTC language courses, the difference is that OEC's class is tied to its own overseas placement work and charges a fee.
Register online in five steps, then wait for the shortlist call
There is no paper form and no need to visit an OEC office to apply. The registration form sits on the OEC job portal, and the notice says registration is free. The fee is paid only once you are shortlisted and offered a seat.
- Open jobs.oec.gov.pk/jlt_form and fill in your CNIC, date of birth, contact details and education.
- Enter your trade certificate or diploma, the issuing institute and your one year of experience.
- Choose Islamabad or Lahore and the morning or afternoon session.
- Submit and note the confirmation; OEC contacts shortlisted candidates by phone or email.
- Pay the Rs 10,000 when offered a seat, and keep the receipt, because the fee is not refundable.
For questions, the notice lists six helpdesk numbers: OEC head office, 6th floor, EOBI House, G-10/4, Islamabad, 051-9108402 to 12; the Centre of Excellence, Zero Point, 051-9253247; Lahore, 042-99250531 to 35; Karachi, Government Polytechnic Institute, Jacob Line, near Empress Market, Saddar, 021-32791192; Quetta, Technical Training Centre, Sariab Road, 081-9211651; Peshawar, Government Technical Training Centre, Bahar No 1, 091-9225473.
The course does not guarantee a job or a visa in Japan
OEC prints this as a numbered note on the advertisement: completing the Japanese language course is no guarantee of employment or a visa in Japan. The class gives you the language base; the job depends on passing Japan's own tests and being picked by a Japanese employer.
Japan's main route for Pakistani workers is the Specified Skilled Worker visa, which needs a skills test in your sector and a Japanese language test. How those tests work, and why no agent is needed, is in our guide to the Japan work visa for Pakistanis. OEC's course is a sensible first step on that road, but it is one step.
Budget realistically. Rs 10,000 for the course, your travel to Islamabad or Lahore for eleven weeks, and later the test fees. Nobody at OEC will ask you for more than the printed fee, and payment is only on the official challan.
Only OEC's own portal takes registrations, so ignore agents selling seats
The only registration link is jobs.oec.gov.pk/jlt_form, and the notice says plainly that applications are accepted online only and registration is free. Any "Japan consultant" charging to register you, or promising a guaranteed seat, is selling something OEC gives away.
Japan-bound workers do not need a private promoter at any stage of the SSW route, and OEC does not use sub-agents. If someone has already taken money from you for a Japan seat, check whether the promoter is licensed and how to report an unlicensed job agent.
Common questions
How much does OEC's Japanese language course cost?
Rs 10,000 for the full basic course, and the notice says the fee is non-refundable. Those who pass get a 45-day advanced course free.
Who can apply?
Anyone aged 18 to 39 who is at least middle pass, holds a trade certificate or diploma from a government-recognised institute, and has one year of experience in that trade.
Where are the classes held?
At the OEC Centre of Excellence, PMI Auditorium Building, Zero Point, Islamabad, and at the OEC regional office in the Government Staff Training College and GTTI, 4 West, Main Road, Mughalpura, Lahore.
How long is the course and what are the timings?
About two and three-quarter months. The morning session is 9:00 am to 12:30 pm and the afternoon session 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm; you choose one.
Does finishing the course get me a job in Japan?
No. OEC's notice states that completing the course does not guarantee employment or a visa in Japan.
How do I register?
Online only, free, at jobs.oec.gov.pk/jlt_form. OEC phones or emails shortlisted candidates when a batch is formed.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 19 October 2026. The age, education, trade and experience conditions, the exclusions, the fee, the venues, the session timings, the course length, the 45-day advanced course, the no-guarantee note and the helpdesk numbers come from OEC's Urdu advertisement "Admission Form for the Japanese Language Training Course (JLT)" on the announcements board of OEC's website, and the registration link from the same notice at jobs.oec.gov.pk/jlt_form, both read on 19 October 2026. The advertisement image is undated; OEC's site lists the notice with a deadline of 31 December 2027. We could not verify when the next batch starts or how many seats each centre has, because the notice does not say.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
