Aigi Career Development Consortium for International Students: Gifu Region Workshop 2024
On Wednesday, October 30, "Aigi Career Development Consortium for International Students: Gifu Region Workshop 2024" was held at Zenkyo General Education building, Gifu University.
This workshop, now in its seventh year, was jointly organized by four member institutions of the Aigi Career Development Consortium for International Students1: Gifu University, the Gifu Prefectural Government, the Gifu Employer's Association, and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Gifu. The major objective of this workshop is to provide international students and local companies with employment matching opportunities.
The workshop was divided into two parts. In the first part, titled "Utilizing Highly Skilled International Talent in the Tokai Region2: From the Perspective of Promoting Permanent Residency," lectures were given by company employees and international workers. First, Mr. USUDA Ryuji, President of Kyowa Co., Ltd.3, introduced the background of hiring Vietnamese employees at his company and the current efforts to retain these employees by sharing specific episodes. Next, Ms. Kunnaratana Suwapith, who works for Techno Preknead HIDA Co., Ltd.4, shared her experiences of job hunting in Japan as a foreigner, her current job, and her career development in Japan, all in Japanese. In the second part, international students were invited to visit the booths of participating companies. There, they had a chance to directly interact with company representatives. This year, 13 representatives from 11 companies and 14 international students participated.
Students who attended the workshop gave the following positive feedback; "The workshop was quite beneficial for international students because it was designed specifically for students who are seeking jobs in Japan." "I gained a lot of useful information on how to find a job in Japan," and "I strongly felt the appeal of the Tokai region as a place to live and work." Company representatives also provided encouraging comments, such as, "After hearing about actual cases from international students up to the point of their hiring, we would like to review our hiring practices in our company," "The workshop was very meaningful. We had a chance to hear from someone who has actually found a job in Japan," and "We were able to build connections with individuals and organizations that can share information concerning hiring international talent for our company in the future.
Gifu University will continue to actively support the matching of international students with local companies and help more international students find employment in Japan in the coming years.
1) Established in 2017 to support the domestic employment of international students through the collaboration of universities, local governments, economic organizations in Aichi and Gifu prefectures aligned with the objectives of MEXT of Japan.
2) Located in central Japan, stretches along the Pacific Ocean and includes the prefectures of Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Mie.
3) Manufacturer of industrial and special purpose machines located in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture
4) Manufacturer of industrial rubber, and original chemical masterbatch "PREKNEAD," located in Kababe Town, Kamo-Gun, Gifu Prefecture
