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Employment rate of Japan's university graduates at 97.6%, near record high

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Umm...I wonder about the accuracy of this statement. How was the data collected and disseminated. As the government took this survey the numbers are going to be skewed to the positive side.

THe following is something that ACTUALLY happens; The school asks the incoming graduating class, How many people are going to be job hunting? Let:s say out of 100 students, 60 raise their hand and those 60 all find jobs, one would think that the percentage would be 60% right?

WRONG, the school would advertise that their employment rate was 100% and they would not be wrong either. How? WTF right? Because they only count the number of students who actually answered yes who the heck knows about the rest.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

This actually is not a good thing. The students know they will get a black suit and a desk regardless of their academic achievements. As a result, universities have become little more than daycare centers for young adults. The university I work at is ‘supposed to be’ a very reputable school. However, the students do very little work and/or study. They also rarely take a job in their field of study. For example, a girl graduated with a degree in child psychology and took a job as a secretary for the sales team at a plastics company. It’s a sham!

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Very hard to know if the figure 97.6 is in any way meaningful given the quality of some job offers. A significant number of new graduates quit their first jobs in the first year (or years if they gaman a bit longer) when they work out it's not the real deal. Should subtract those to get the real figure. I suspect it would be significantly lower and not so glowing.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It's obvious to anyone who reads "The news" (government propaganda) that government generated statistics are bent so out of shape they have long since lost any relevance with truth. Let's all be happy....but wondering why I can't get a job? mmmm cup noodles. Or working long hours with no overtime payment, injured on the job well Shogani. Your fired. A distasteful rice ball is still distasteful no matter how much cologne you spray on it.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

I would think because there seem to be fewer and fewer graduates each year to fill all the seats every April as the “fresh meat” for Japan Inc.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Facing a tight labor market, major Japanese firms are changing their employment policy to hire university graduates all year round.

Not a bad step one. Step two is employing people irrespective of whether they are just out of college and still wet behind the ears.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

98% employment? If you consider 60% of the workforce on part time contracts full time.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Of the jobseekers, some 10,700 students were unable to find a job, according to the survey, which covered 24 national or public universities and 38 private universities.

Guys, take a gap year, travel, see the world, volunteer/work, learn english/chinese/thai etc and yes 'have fun'!!!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

THIS is why far too many students are far too many schools have no real investment in their lives and education. They know if they just "clock in" at school they will be handed some job somewhere.

This is damaging on so many levels. Like employment is the first and last concern. Not that so few are actually efficient at their job. Or that so few have true motivation to learn. Where are the Japanese students that want to stick out and be azong and come up with new ideas. Few and far between because their lives are on a conveyer belt that was set in motion by their parents and/teacher from Jr high.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

98% employment? If you consider 60% of the workforce on part time contracts full time.

Part time contracts at super low pay and most cases no pay and benefits

And one wonders why the economy has stagnated ever since the bubble burst.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Good.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Now wait a minute, Japanese companies have a long standing policy of approaching top students during their HS grad. yrs & began “grooming” them for positions within their companies. They began by offering them finical support at low interest rates, housing if they marry during their University/ College yrs, & later, training during their “break periods” & a promise of employment following their graduation. In turn the individual is encouraged to take the courses they recommend. All of this results in low graduate unemployment percentages annually and to date Japanese companies are in dire need of a new generation of young people to fill the positions being vacated by an aging workforce. It’s become so bad that the GOJ is publicizing for foreigners to seek employment in Japan

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Labor shortage here is so bad, the only question an employment application: Got a heartbeat?

Answer "Yes" you are hired...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

In my case as a mid-career worker I am stuck. Even if I interview and get a lateral job offer, companies simply will not pay more than I currently make. I said I need my current salary plus alpha to change and they say I would make more than my new boss so they can't do it.

Trapped by complacency. It's too good to leave, but not good enough to want to stay. I was in that for a few years in the last company I worked for. It sucked.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Simply unprecedented. 1.6 jobs for every graduate! Thank you PM Abe, Thank you Aso!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

@Ganbare Japan! - why are you thanking Abe and Aso? Is it because the LDP have screwed the economy so badly in the last twenty years that people have stopped having children, which has created more jobs? Is it because Abenomics is a complete failure and has forced companies to hire any twit with a heartbeat? I think your ideals are somewhat delusional.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

"It's too good to leave, but not good enough to want to stay."

Spot on, Stranger. I was in a situation where the pay wasn't too bad, but I was on the lower end of the pecking order in terms of salary and position. The salary was fine, albeit much lower than those above me, but having those above me practicing their managerial skills on me was not very fun. I left and never regretted it. They offered me a higher salary to stay, but it was the atmosphere of having one too many bosses telling me what to do which was the deciding factor.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

My wife's company had a manager who had worked there for 25 years. The boss decided to do a time and motion/ proficiency test. 2 days latter he was sacked. Now the boss describes his tenure as theft, that being claiming an exorbitant salery while producing nothing but extra work for everyone else. The "official" figures neglect to include those in full time employment who are retarding both their company and their colleagues.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

These questions spring to mind.

What kind of job?

What kind of pay?

Are there any elections in the foreseeable future?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Strangerland and stormcrow: how can one break free from complacency syndrome and what can one expect?

I left to work for myself, accepting that I would take a fairly major financial hit, but willing to do it for my sanity. It was a scary move, a real jump of faith, but I've never regretted making it.

That said, things ended up going good for me. If they had gone bad, maybe I would have regretted it forever.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I wonder about the accuracy of this statement. How was the data collected and disseminated. As the government took this survey the numbers are going to be skewed to the positive side.

Unless the rules have changed since I retired two years ago, the students report whether they have received a legally binding job offer and from what entity. It is the ratio of those with offers to those who were looking for jobs that is reported. Students who go to graduate school or into family business or who simply don’t look for jobs are excluded from the calculations.

Generally, universities take more note of rankings published by the Toyo Keizai Zasshi and the Nihon Keizai Shinbun then the government reports. These and other economic newspapers and magazines do their own research and surveys. This works to keep the universities honest.

I doubt there is much fudging of the numbers. When I retired two years ago, even weak students at a third tier university were getting good offers. In 2007-2008 even good students at prestige universities had trouble getting jobs. I had some ask me to give them a failing grade so they would be short of credits and could spend another year looking for jobs.

98% employment? If you consider 60% of the workforce on part time contracts full time

Relatively few university graduates get part time jobs. The bulk of people in part time jobs are middle-aged women and older men. There are also some who did not get regular jobs when the market was really bad in 2007-2008.

And one wonders why the economy has stagnated ever since the bubble burst.

You are putting the cart before the horse. The stagnant economy led to a proliferation of low pay jobs, not the other way around.

Japanese companies have a long standing policy of approaching top students during their HS grad. yrs & began “grooming” them for positions within their companies.

In engineering, possibly, but on a very small scale. I’ve taught at Japanese universities from the top (University of Tokyo) to the lower middle and I’ve neither seen nor heard of anything comparable to what you describe.

the LDP have screwed the economy so badly in the last twenty years that people have stopped having children

Actually, the fertility rate in Japan dropped most dramatically during periods of high growth and started recovering when the economy was at a nadir in 2007.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@Reckless

I had one foot in and one foot on another spot already, which was both busy and nutty. Like Strangerland, I took a bit of a financial hit but prefer to manage myself. Luckily, both things were working out for me at the same time, so I could choose. If you're in a situation where you want to go it alone, don't give up what you've got already. Build up on the side first so you have enough to survive before you make the jump.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

They also rarely take a job in their field of study. For example, a girl graduated with a degree in child psychology and took a job as a secretary for the sales team at a plastics company. It’s a sham!

(Said Do the hustle)

"I asked same kind of that question to my Professor in Yamaguchi University (in 2005). We studied membrane at Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Department, but some of several Students of my Professor worked in different field at Japanese Industries after graduation (not in membrane field). It was ok answered my Professor, because Those Students already learned how to think as aan engineer, the way to solve a problem." Thanks for your attention.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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