Human Resources

July 2003

As part of the measures to improve unemployment for young people the Ministry of Labor will introduce a system to encourage the youth to take job training courses at vocational schools while working as company trainees. For six months to three years, these young people will be able to work at companies as trainees or part-timers for the first half of the week and take job training courses at vocational schools in the second half of the week. The ministry hopes the system will help them find full-time jobs. The ministry plans to grant subsidies to companies willing to accept such young people as trainees on the condition that they draw up job training programs in collaboration with vocational schools. The ministry targets at least 20,000 young people to take advantage of the system next fiscal year, with first-year expenses associated with the introduction of the system estimated at several billion yen. Unemployment is particularly severe among youth in Japan, with the jobless rate for those aged 15-24 standing at more than 10%, nearly double the level for overall age groups. (July 9, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun)