Employment for Skill Development Program in Japan: What Employers Need to Know

Japan’s Employment for Skill Development Program, known in Japanese as Ikusei Shuro (育成就労), is scheduled to replace the Technical Intern Training Program in April 2027.

The new program will affect not only foreign workers but also employers, supervising support organizations and professionals advising companies on foreign worker employment.

I recently completed a training course for professionals involved in the Technical Intern Training Program. The course also explained the transition to the new framework and the responsibilities employers and supervising organizations will assume.

I found the course clear and practical. It also gave me a better understanding of the areas that administrative scriveners and other professionals will need to study when supporting employers as external auditors or ongoing advisers.

Although many of the operational details are technical, three changes are particularly important for employers.

1. The purpose of the program is changing

The current Technical Intern Training Program was established primarily to transfer skills, technologies and knowledge to developing countries through the acceptance of foreign technical interns.

The new program has a different and more direct purpose: developing and securing workers in industries facing labour shortages in Japan.

The standard period of employment and training under the new program will be three years. During this period, workers are expected to develop the skills and Japanese-language ability needed to move to the Specified Skilled Worker (i) status.

This creates a clearer connection between initial employment, skills development and longer-term employment in Japan.

For employers, this means that hiring a foreign worker should not be treated simply as a way to fill an immediate vacancy. Employers will need to consider how workers will acquire the necessary occupational skills and Japanese-language ability over the course of the program.

2. Workers will have greater ability to change employers

Under the Technical Intern Training Program, changing employers has generally been restricted, except in cases where continuing the training becomes difficult for unavoidable reasons.

Under the new program, workers will be able to change employers within the same sector at their own request, subject to certain conditions. These conditions include completing the required period of employment with the original employer and meeting applicable skills and Japanese-language requirements. The required employment period may differ depending on the industry.

This could represent a significant step forward in protecting foreign workers.

At the same time, it will have a practical effect on employers. Companies will no longer be able to assume that a worker will remain with them throughout the entire training period simply because changing employers is difficult.

Working conditions, communication, fair treatment and workplace support will become even more important. Employers that invest in proper training and create a workplace in which foreign employees feel respected will be in a stronger position to retain the workers they have trained.

In that sense, worker protection and employee retention are closely connected.

3. Employer compliance and external oversight will remain essential

The new framework will replace supervising organizations with supervising support organizations. Employers and these organizations will each have responsibilities relating to training, employment conditions, worker support and compliance with the program.

The training course provided practical explanations of matters such as the responsibilities of employers, supervision, audits and the respective roles of the parties involved.

One point was particularly clear: obtaining the worker’s immigration status is only the beginning of the employer’s responsibilities.

Employers will need to implement the approved employment and training arrangements in practice. They will also need to maintain appropriate records and cooperate with supervision, audits and inspections.

Support should not exist only on paper. Foreign workers may need assistance with workplace communication, Japanese-language learning and daily life in Japan. Problems should be identified and addressed before they develop into serious employment or immigration issues.

Applying my Canadian compliance experience in Japan

The course also made me realize how much I can draw on my professional experience in Canada.

For more than 20 years, I have worked as a Canadian immigration consultant. Part of my work has involved helping employers navigate the Labour Market Impact Assessment process and understand the compliance review and inspection regime that applies after a foreign worker has been hired.

Canadian employers may be required to demonstrate that they provided the occupation, wages and working conditions stated in the employment offer. They must retain appropriate records and be prepared to respond if the authorities conduct a compliance review or inspection.

The Canadian and Japanese systems are different, and the requirements of one system cannot simply be transferred to the other. However, the underlying compliance principles have much in common.

Employers must understand their obligations, maintain reliable records and ensure that their actual employment practices are consistent with the commitments they made when hiring the worker.

Compliance is therefore not something that should be considered only when an inspection occurs. It should be incorporated into the employer’s regular operations from the beginning.

Preparing for the new program

Employers considering hiring foreign workers should review both the applicable immigration requirements and their responsibilities throughout the employment relationship. For an overview, see our guide to hiring foreign workers in Japan.

The Employment for Skill Development Program will require employers to look beyond recruitment and immigration applications.

Before hiring workers under the new program, employers should consider:

• who will be responsible for workplace training;
• how the worker’s progress will be monitored;
• what Japanese-language learning opportunities will be provided;
• how employment conditions and working hours will be recorded;
• how workplace or daily-life problems will be addressed; and
• how the company will cooperate with its supervising support organization and other professionals.

These preparations will help employers meet their legal responsibilities. They may also improve communication, reduce workplace problems and increase employee retention.

For professionals advising employers, the new program will require knowledge extending beyond immigration application procedures. We will need to understand how the rules operate throughout the employment relationship and how employers can implement them in their workplaces.

My experience with Canadian employer compliance reviews and inspections has given me a practical understanding of the importance of post-hiring compliance. I hope to apply that experience in Japan by supporting employers not only with immigration procedures, but also with their ongoing responsibilities under the new program.

The transition to the Employment for Skill Development Program is more than a change in the name of an immigration status. It represents a broader change in how Japan recruits, trains, supports and retains foreign workers.

Employers that begin preparing early will be better positioned to adapt to the new framework and build stable, responsible employment relationships with their foreign employees.

This article provides general information based on the framework available at the time of writing. Requirements may differ by industry, and further operational details may be revised before or after the program takes effect.

Official information: Organization for Technical Intern Training – Employment for Skill Development Program