This article presents an initiative using Specified Skilled Worker status in Japan's motor vehicle transportation industry for aspiring truck drivers from Vietnam, as well as an example of an educational system providing thorough safety training.
Against the backdrop of a serious labor shortage in the transportation industry, the government added the motor vehicle transportation industry to the Specified Skilled Worker status program in 2024 and expects to accept 22,100 workers by fiscal 2028. Although safety concerns remain when foreign nationals take driving jobs in Japan, efforts are advancing to connect them with workplaces through thorough safety training.
Tan, a Vietnamese national aiming to obtain a large-vehicle driver's license at Hanyu Motor School in Saitama Prefecture, is currently close to obtaining the license after about 4 months in Japan. Uchida Masahiro (内田 雅博), president of 株式会社有明, has praised Tan's positive attitude toward communicating in Japanese with his colleagues, as well as his efforts to welcome Tan when he arrived in Japan and check in with him every day.
Tan first came to Japan as a technical intern trainee in 2016 and returned to Japan this year, where he is now aiming to become a truck driver under the Specified Skilled Worker program. The article introduces how he is making use of opportunities to study Japanese and working alongside Japanese colleagues.
Looking ahead, attention is focusing on initiatives in which sending organizations, accepting organizations and logistics companies work together to train and place foreign workers while overcoming the challenges of converting foreign driver's licenses to Japanese licenses.
Efforts to train Vietnamese workers and promote White Logistics could also affect the expansion of acceptance of technical intern trainees for overseas operations.