How Japanese companies are working towards hiring highly skilled foreign talent

How Japanese companies are working towards hiring highly skilled foreign talent: A closer look at their efforts.

In 2017, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released a collection of case studies outlining what companies can do to create an attractive work environment for highly skilled foreign talent.

NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd.（manufacturing industry）

Highly-skilled foreign workers who are new hires are paired
with Japanese employees who joined the company at the same time
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.17)

Highly-skilled foreign workers are unfamiliar with the Japanese language, Japanese culture , and customs
On the other hand, many of the new Japanese employees are highly global-minded. are often unfamiliar with On the other hand,
since many new Japanese employees join the company with a global mindset, in 2017 the company launched a buddy system to support highly-skilled foreign human resources by pairing them with each other during new employee
training. Many new Japanese employees raise their hands as buddies for highly-skilled foreign workers.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.17)

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000541599.pdf

One highly-skilled foreign professional is paired with multiple Japanese employees
on a rotating basis.

In terms of the number of new recruits, there are more Japanese than foreigners, so we are looking for a
buddy role from among Japanese new recruits.
This fiscal year, 13 new Japanese employees applied for
buddies for 4 highly-skilled foreign employees who are new hires, so for each highly-skilled foreign employee,
3 new Japanese employees (4 depending on the person). will form a buddy on a daily basis. In addition,
consideration is given to pair new employees of the same sex as much as possible. This is because when you
live in a company dormitory, several people will share one room. It is a thing.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.17)

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000541599.pdf

My impression

New Japanese graduates tend to have a lot of enthusiasm and hope, but they can become narrow-minded due to the busy work and strict working conditions.
Therefore, interacting with highly skilled foreign talent can introduce new perspectives and cultural diversity and can also be beneficial for team building. In addition, information exchange and mutual support among foreign employees can help reduce stress and create a more comfortable working environment!!

Fourth Valley Concierge Co., Ltd.（Information and communication industry）

Are you in an environment where you can advance your career?
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.19)

As the business expands, the company plans to increase the number of employees tenfold over the next ten years. To that end, we believe that we must attract more talented and diverse human resources, including highlyskilled foreign professionals.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.19)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WfDQK2IQOf6PM94jGQFlq7-hdTn8vy3Z/view?usp=share_link

for example, long-term private events such as “I want to work at an overseas
base to get married internationally”, “I want to play an active role as a general manager of an overseas
base in the future”, and “I want to bring my family to Japan in the future”. are also being discussed
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.19)

…….

highly-skilled foreign workers need to plan in advance
where they will be in the future more than Japanese people, so it is also possible to think about life plans
together with the company. is necessary.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.19)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WfDQK2IQOf6PM94jGQFlq7-hdTn8vy3Z/view?usp=share_link

Company D & Minimal Technologies Co., Ltd.(Information and communication industry)

Ease of achieving work-life balance Flexible
working styles such as telework
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.20)

Highly-skilled foreign workers who often go on long-term overseas business trips say that “telework” is not only possible to work from home in Japan, but also want to be able to communicate smoothly while staying
abroad.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.20)

……

The development department has built a VPN system (network within the organization) and made it
possible to use a team communication app for business to enable telework and achieve a work-life
balance. By using the team communication app for business,
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.20)

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/english/index.html

Minimal Technologies Inc.(Information and communication industry)

Introduced a system that allows
employees to substitute holidays and take vacations all at once
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.21)

we provide multilingual translation services for Japanese websites, and we are also expanding overseas. I would like it to be reflected. Therefore, during the year-end and
New Year holidays, employees are encouraged to take vacations and return to their home countries for a long period of time.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.21)

….

By allowing free work styles according to the tendency of each person, we are promoting the establishment of highly skilled foreign human resources.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.21)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WfDQK2IQOf6PM94jGQFlq7-hdTn8vy3Z/view?usp=share_link

Fujitsu Limited(manufacturing industry)

Highly-skilled foreign workers have voluntarily established an English club
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.22)

Mr. F, a young highly-skilled foreign professional who is active as a researcher of the latest technology, says that in order for the company he works for to become more globalized and to create a climate in which diverse
values are mutually recognized, Japanese people should be more involved on a daily basis.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.22)

…..

we have held lunch meetings in English every week since the club was established. Now, the number of participants has increased to the extent that we hold lunch meetings at multiple offices at the same time. are doing.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017, p.22)

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000541599.pdf