Boosting Japan's IT Labour Force — From Shortages to Skill Standards

Abstract

This paper examines alleged shortages and institutional weaknesses in the education, training and employment of Japan's IT labour force at the beginning of the 21st century. In particular, the paper focusses on recent initiatives taken by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to develop IT skill standards (ITSS) in order to promote external labour markets for IT professionals. Drawing on official sources, surveys and interviews with officials in Japan and the UK, the authors argue that similarities between skill standards in Japan and the UK are more apparent than real. The authors argue that the development, design and application of skill standards must be understood in their respective national institutional contexts.

The diverging paths of skilled immigration in Singapore, Japan and Korea: policy priorities and external labor market for skilled foreign workers

“…To solve this problem, the e‐Japan project was initiated to promote IT skill standards that assign skill descriptions to job titles. This formal matrix was expected to cultivate an external labor market by promoting reliable interaction among recruiters, job seekers, educators and trainers (McCormick and Yoshiki ). Moreover, the formal framework to accredit qualifications as seen in Singapore could be a critical step for Japan to rationalize its skilled immigration policy by specifying and mitigating labor shortages efficiently (Ducanes ).…”