A small and midsize company in Okazaki has begun hiring foreign employees as regular staff and has decided to cover even the cost of renewing their family members' residence permits. At the same time, it is struggling to attract Japanese applicants, highlighting the difficulty of securing personnel.
As the system governing employment for foreign international students becomes stricter, small and midsize company executives are confronting the realities of securing personnel. A company in Okazaki, Aichi, that designs and manufactures production equipment for the automotive and other industries has decided to cover the full cost of renewing residence permits not only for foreign employees but also for their family members. Its annual expenses are reportedly expected to exceed ¥1 million in the future. The company has emphasized its willingness to continue hiring, but the backdrop is the difficulty of securing personnel.
株式会社オージーエヌ, based in Okazaki, designs and manufactures production equipment for automobile plants and does business with major companies. It currently has 29 foreign employees, including those at affiliated companies: 25 Vietnamese, 2 Indian and 2 Thai. The company began actively hiring foreign nationals as regular employees in 2015, prompted by the hiring of young Vietnamese people with science and engineering backgrounds. Although recruitment is continuing, the company described the practical difficulties it faces, including a high number of candidates declining job offers even after interviews.
Hiring foreign talent brings costs as well as benefits. Their work on the production floor is equivalent to that of Japanese employees, and their terms of employment are structured similarly; they handle mechanical design and electrical design work. The widening recruitment efforts of major companies in recent years have made it more difficult for small and midsize companies to attract talent. The increase in residence-permit fees that took effect on 1 October has also become a new concern.