GLOBAL HR BUSINESS
Against a backdrop of increasing labor shortages within Japan, there is increasing expectation and attention on the recruitment of overseas talent. Allow us to introduce the "Overseas Talent Business," a pivotal growth initiative that Zenken Corporation is focusing on.
Our Goal in the Overseas Talent Business
As Japan faces the challenges of an aging population and a declining workforce, every industry is at risk of experiencing labor shortages. To address this significant economic challenge, the government is actively promoting the acceptance of overseas talent in specialized and technical fields.
While Japan experiences a rapid decline in its population, the global population continues to grow, leading to societal issues such as poverty and inequality.
Zenken focuses on the areas of "IT" and "caregiving," where labor shortages are particularly pronounced, expanding talent and education businesses.
By continuously creating better opportunities between overseas talent who want to work in Japan and Japanese companies struggling with labor shortages, we contribute to the resolution of societal issues.
Features of Zenken's Overseas IT Talent Business
Talent Supply Capability
In the IT sector, we have established a local corporation in Bengaluru, India's IT city, and have partnered with approximately 40 engineering universities as of the end of June 2023. We also initiated a recruitment platform exclusively for overseas IT talents, continually increasing the number of talents registered from all over the world. In the caregiving sector, we have signed an exclusive contract with an Indonesian caregiving personnel agency. Through a business collaboration agreement with NSDCI, we have secured a robust talent supply base.
Japanese Language and Cross-Cultural Educational Strength
Since our founding in 1975, we have been expanding our language education business. Our strengths lie in the educational know-how and track record we have cultivated over many years. We offer high-level Japanese language education focused on practical use in the workplace, not just basic conversational skills, including the acquisition of business manners and understanding of Japanese culture, as well as cross-cultural training for the staff of the recipient companies. We provide detailed support to ensure the overseas talents we introduce can thrive and become established in their employing companies.
Two Focus Markets in the Overseas Talent Business
Overseas IT Talent
According to estimates by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, there will be a shortfall of up to 790,000 IT professionals by 2030. While the demand for overseas IT talent continues to rise, many companies hesitate to hire due to concerns over communication in Japanese and cultural differences.
Leveraging the educational know-how of our founding business, our goal is not only to achieve "recruitment" of overseas IT talent, but to facilitate support aimed at "post-hire retention and success."
Why India?
India, a leader in IT education, has been focusing on IT talent development for decades. With 537,000 graduates in ICT education (approximately 16 times more than Japan) and 2.26 million engineers (approximately 1.6 times that of Japan), India boasts an overwhelming scale of IT professionals. However, this has led to an oversupply of IT talent and a low domestic employment rate. As a result, job postings from Japanese companies see a high volume of applications from students at top engineering universities. Japanese companies tend to value not only IT skills but also Japanese language proficiency. Leveraging our extensive educational know-how cultivated through our foundational business, we provide support for the active engagement and retention of overseas IT talent, including Japanese language education.
Features of Zenken's Overseas IT Talent Business
From New Graduate Recruitment to Direct Recruiting
In 2019, we established a local subsidiary in Bengaluru, India's IT city, and partnered with local engineering universities. We opened the first Japan Career Center within a university in India, creating a matching venue for students and Japanese companies, thereby facilitating introductions to exceptional talents previously inaccessible to Japanese firms. Furthermore, in 2022, we launched 'Yaaay', a matching platform that connects global IT talents with Japanese companies. Depending on corporate needs, we support both new graduate and mid-career recruitment of elite overseas IT talent.
Strong Foundation Attracting Excellent Talent
We have formed partnerships with approximately 40 top universities in Bengaluru, known for producing outstanding IT talent, thereby establishing a robust talent pipeline. The number of registered students exceeds 15,000 and continues to grow (as of the end of June 2023). Moving forward, against the backdrop of India's population, which is about 11 times that of Japan, and its status as one of the world's leading IT nations, we will continue to develop a sustainable introduction business. The direct recruiting site for IT talent, 'Yaaay', surpassed 30,000 registrants in less than a year after its launch. The nationality of registrants spans 92 countries, with the number of job seekers both domestically and internationally continuing to increase (as of the end of August 2023).
Achievements in the Field of New Graduate Staffing (Japan Career Center)
Partner Universities
39
(an increase of 5 from the previous term)
Number of Registered Talents
About 15,000
an increase of 4,000 from the previous term
Companies with Transaction Records
171
an increase of 59 from the previous term
Number of Successful Candidates
279
an increase of 77 from the previous term)
(As of the end of June 2023)
Achievements in the Field of Mid-Career Staffing (Yaaay)
Number of Registrants in Yaaay
22,000
Nationalities Registered in Yaaay
92 countries
Number of Companies Posting Jobs (Active)
51
Number of Successful Candidates
7
Significant growth since the service started in October 2022
(As of the end of August 2023)
Overseas Caregiving Talent
As Japan transitions into a "super-aged society" by 2025, it is predicted that there will be a shortage of 320,000 caregiving staff. This number is expected to rise to 690,000 by 2040, highlighting a critical shortage of personnel in the caregiving sector. Our company supports all challenges related to "overseas caregiving talent" faced by caregiving facility operators, utilizing our extensive network of foreign talents and the expertise gained from operating language schools and caregiving facilities.
Features of Zenken's Overseas Caregiving Talent Business
Introducing High-Quality Overseas Talent Specialized in Caregiving
We have exclusive contracts with two Indonesian agencies for sending caregiving personnel. The first, "Gakushudo," has been providing Japanese language education in Indonesia since 1987 and is involved in publishing Japanese language materials and sending Indonesian personnel abroad. The second, "Dharma Wanita Vocational High School," operates one of the only three specialized caregiving high schools in Indonesia, offering caregiving education, practical training, and Japanese language education for caregiving. These exclusive contracts ensure that any talent sent to Japan from these institutions goes through our company.
Providing a Language Education Curriculum that Immediately Empowers Overseas Talent
As a supporting organization for specified skilled foreigners, we have a wealth of know-how in supporting Japanese language learning. We offer a unique Japanese language education program that supports the acquisition of the "Certified Care Worker" national qualification. Our curriculum is designed for sustained learning through "cohort-based learning" and is delivered by instructors proficient in both caregiving knowledge and Japanese language education. We also conduct cross-cultural understanding and education of beginner-level Japanese for the staff of the receiving facilities.
Operating Care Facilities as a Role Model for Utilizing Overseas Talent
We address the concerns of business operators who are potential recipients, such as "Can smooth communication be achieved?" "Will differences in living habits be problematic?" "Is there a limited scope of work that can be entrusted?" By operating care facilities acquired through M&A, we aim to become a role model facility for the utilization of overseas talent, showing successful on-site models to business operators, thus leading to customer development and the provision of overseas caregiving talent introduction services.
On March 20, 2023, our company, Zenken, signed an MOU with NSDC International Limited (NSDCI), a 100% subsidiary of the National Skill Development Corporation, to cooperate in strengthening the acceptance of high-level talent, including IT engineers, and specific skilled personnel in the caregiving field. This collaboration involves recruiting, training, dispatching, and introducing talent trained at the NSDCI's fully residential Japanese language training center in Gurugram, near India's capital Delhi, to Japan under the specified skilled caregiving visa. NSDCI aims to increase the number of Japanese language learners to more than 300 people in 2023-24 and to cooperate in providing employment opportunities in Japan for high-level professionals required in various industries, including IT. As the first phase, our company aims to create employment in Japan for 220 Indian talents by 2025.
