Training and Building Leaders in the Accommodation Industry in Japan

The Project for Recruiting and Training Tourism Talent with Local and Practical Expertise

Move to main contents

Training and Building Leaders in the Accommodation Industry in Japan

The Project for Recruiting and Training Tourism Talent with Local and Practical Expertise

Move to main contents

About the Project for Recruiting and Training Tourism Talent with Local and Practical Expertise

The tourism industry in Japan is undergoing major environmental upheaval in the face of a range of issues, including a declining population and aging society, a global shift in the structure of industry, the maturation of domestic tourism demand, a dramatic increase in foreign tourists visiting Japan, and the development of advanced information and communications technologies (ICT).
In response, at the end of March 2016, Prime Minister Abe chaired a meeting of the Council for the Development of a Tourism Vision to Support the Future of Japan in which he positioned human resource development in the tourism industry as a key factor for industry growth.
As part of efforts to turn the tourism industry into a major pillar of the growth strategy of Japan and to build the brand of Japan as a tourism-oriented developed nation, it will be necessary to train and build leaders in the tourism industry by implementing a three-layer structure that consists of top-level management talent leading the industry, talent at the core of tourism, and tourism talent with local and practical expertise that can be put to immediate use.
One of the barriers to achieving this is that the organizations that need to respond to the issues facing the industry; that is, Japanese inns and hotels, have not created the environment necessary to attract the needed talent and there is a lack of awareness and understanding regarding the benefits of using foreign talent. This is a problem that must be urgently addressed.
This project focuses on the “foreign talent” aspect of the third of the above-mentioned layers; that is, “tourism talent with local and practical expertise that can be put to immediate use,” with the goal of resolving the shortage of tourism talent in local regions by providing support for recruiting (foreign) talent to work in Japanese inns and hotels, and incentivizing them to stay.
We will hold seminars for hotels, Japanese inns, and other accommodation operators, as well as operators interested in utilizing foreign talent, at a few locations nationwide to foster an understanding of how to utilize foreign talent and help create an environment that will attract such talent going forward.
At the same time, through these seminars, we will build a platform and structure that will enable individual consultations about utilizing foreign talent, thereby helping to train and build talent in the tourism industry.

Case Studies

More

Videos

Watch videos offering information on the Specified Skilled Worker program and duties in the accommodation industry.