Japan's education system is highly regarded around the world, and in the 2012 OECD learning achievement survey of 15-year-olds, Japan ranked 8th in mathematical literacy, 3rd in reading comprehension, and 3rd in scientific literacy.1 The standard of secondary education up to high school is also very high, with 98% of graduates who complete compulsory education (elementary and junior high school) going on to high school, the highest level in the world. After that, 53.5 % go on to university.2
16.8% of high school graduates find employment, but looking at the employment rate by region, it is about 30% in parts of Tohoku, Tokai, and Kyushu, and 5-7% in Tokyo and Kanagawa, but the rate of going on to university is high at 60-65%. The important thing here is whether it is possible for students to get a job after graduation, even if they hope to do so.
In most countries, including South America, higher education or university enrollment is becoming more common, but even after graduation, many people are unable to find a stable job that allows them to live a normal life, let alone in their field of expertise. In recent years, unstable employment or unemployment among graduate school graduates has become a problem in every country. This is a huge loss for society.
On the other hand, in South America, where the economy is somewhat sluggish, export industries are growing and job creation rates are high, mainly in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Paraguay.3 However, there is a serious labor shortage in all fields, especially in technical and management positions, mainly in professional positions such as financial accounting and administration, and they are forced to advertise job openings in Spain and throughout Europe.4 Nevertheless, the employment rate for university graduates is less than half, and the mismatch between education and the labor market is a problem in these countries.
Japan is a society that has a very rational and efficient way of educating students and a labor market that accepts them. At least, that was thought until recently. Students don't care much about their academic studies or expertise, but rather aim to get a job, and they prioritize companies and industries that they like. In reality, only a small proportion of students get jobs in major companies, central government agencies in Kasumigaseki, or in the public and private sectors that promise success and advancement, and not all graduates of top universities can get such jobs.
Perhaps because of this reality, most Japanese students go on to a relatively well-known university depending on the school they went to for elementary, junior high, and high school, and how competitive the entrance exam process was (again, only about 30% of students go to local private universities). For most families, this challenge means a lot of effort and financial effort, and by the middle of their high school years, they have to realistically imagine what kind of university they want to try and what kind of "future" they can build. Of course, there are also students who go to a safe university without any foresight and without giving it much thought.
There are 783 universities in Japan, of which 86 are national, 92 are public (prefectural or municipal), and 605 are private, with a total enrollment of 2.8 million students. On the other hand, although it is often forgotten, there are 620,000 students enrolled in professional training colleges, which have become increasingly popular in recent years.5
In the case of universities, according to statistics from March 2014, there are 560,000 people scheduled to graduate, of which 420,000 are job seekers, and 350,000 have actually received job offers and found employment (this number of graduates is released into the labor market each year). 6 75.5% of graduates are looking for work, with the percentages being 55.4% for national and public university students and 85.4% for private university students. Around 83% have received job offers, but the actual employment rate is 94%. 7
There is no big difference between men and women, but the employment rate for women is slightly higher at 95%, followed by 81.2% for humanities and 90.7% for sciences. By region, the Kanto region has the highest employment rate at 88.3%, followed by Kinki at 83.4%, Hokkaido and Tohoku at 81.4%, Chubu at 81%, Kyushu at 74.8%, and Chugoku and Shikoku at 73.2%, a difference of 15 points from the Kanto region.
Looking at these statistics, we can say that there are too many universities in Japan, and if you are not greedy, you can get into and graduate from a private university. On the other hand, if you have a clear idea of the field you want to study and are prepared to study somewhere, regardless of whether it is famous or not, you can receive a decent higher education.
He asserts that Peruvians living in Japan can go to college if they put in a certain amount of effort from middle school to high school and have financial support from their parents. However, he emphasizes that there is no point in going to college if they are just sitting around doing the same as many other students without any goals, or if they don't attend classes and spend all their time working part-time or doing club activities.
I have been teaching Spanish as a part-time lecturer at the Department of Spanish at Kanagawa University for the past eight years, and at Shizuoka Prefectural University for the past four years, and have seen several students of Peruvian, Argentinean, and Brazilian nationality. Most of them are the children of migrant workers who came to Japan with their parents in the 1990s or were born in Japan. They are studying languages or international relations, but due to their family cultural backgrounds, they have good grades as Spanish students and are very interested in South America.
However, as far as I have seen, their fate after graduation is not being fully realized, either in terms of their inherent multicultural potential or their potential as global human resources, which has been gaining attention recently. Furthermore, there are many cases where they have not been able to find employment like other Japanese graduates. They may have realized some problem during their job search and lowered their goals further, making a safe or inconspicuous choice. Some of them continue to work part-time as non-regular employees, just as they did in their student days.
In Japan, getting a job offer and finding employment are important factors for university students, and even though job hunting requires a lot of effort and money, you can carve out your own path (way of life) by getting a regular job and gaining social experience. Even if you want to utilize your language skills, if your level is not quite high, you will not be able to compete with Japanese people. There are many excellent people, and you will be made to keenly realize that there is always someone better than you.
For the children of immigrants, that is, the second generation of foreigners, finding employment and building assets are big obstacles in any country, even if they have received a reasonable education. That is why Japanese people overseas have aimed to advance in society with the determination to be second to none in terms of education. From my experience, I would like the children of Peruvians and others in Japan to act more proactively without fearing failure, to take full advantage of the market that is looking for diverse human resources, and to grasp their great potential with effort, perseverance, diligence and persistence. I am sure that this will be a great contribution to society, and Japanese society will eventually acknowledge their existence.
Notes:
1. PISA Survey http://www.nier.go.jp/kokusai/pisa/index.html
In 2012, a total of 510,000 students were surveyed in 34 OECD and 31 non-member countries.
2. Japan Education Statistics http://www.stat.go.jp/data/nihon/22.htm
3. Brazil's unemployment rate is 5.4% (2013), Peru's is 5.9%, and Colombia's is a little higher at 10%. However, the urban unemployment rate for young people is said to be twice this. Even so, there are some fields where there are no job seekers.
4. The unemployment rate in Spain is 26.4%, and 54% for young people. Since around 2008, tens of thousands of young people, especially those with relatively high education and experience, have been immigrating to Latin American countries every year. It is rare for them to go there with an annual salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and most of them receive the same salary as local employees or a little higher depending on their experience and specialty.
http://www.publico.es/espana/418164/los-espanoles-emigran-un-21-9-mas-con-la-crisis
" What is 'migration' from Europe to Latin America? " (Discover Nikkei, July 19, 2013)
5. Vocational schools are technically specialized educational institutions with a 2-3 year curriculum, and depending on the school, the entrance exams are very strict and it is not easy to graduate. Many schools have achieved an employment rate of almost 100% (the average is around 95%). In any case, including universities and vocational schools, 80% of young people are receiving higher education.
6. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "2013 Survey on the Employment Status of University Graduates"
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/0000036530.html
7. The acceptance rates and other information held by universities are quantified, but the "employment rate" is the data obtained by the authorities in April of that year.
8. Find a job after graduation rather than repeating a year - Parents of a job-hunting student with no job offers 2014.08.05 Kyodo News-47 News.
http://www.47news.jp/CN/201408/CN2014080501001858.html
© 2014 Alberto J. Matsumoto
