"Career Gateway to Asia"

"Career Gateway to Asia" is a program for foreign students from Asian countries. Provided by the Japan Forum for Work Integrated Learning (WIL), the program offers a curriculum to assist Asian foreign students in enhancing their employability at Japanese companies. Our hope is that by working for and building careers at Japanese companies, former foreign students will accumulate experience that will enable them to contribute to the Asian industrial arena, as well as become bridges between their home countries and Japan. By working for a Japanese company after graduation and immersing yourself in the real world of business as a member of a Japanese company, I believe that you will be able to not only build an excellent career but also further your understanding of Japan. It should be a prime opportunity for enhancing mutual understanding with Japanese people.

Those eligible to take part in this program are third-year undergraduate students, first-year master's degree students and second-year doctoral students. By participating, you will take two 90 minute classes (a total of 180 minutes) per week for a total of two years at the university where you are enrolled. The program is currently being carried out at 18 universities (please visit the Career Gateway to Asia website for details). We are currently considering new universities to be added on from next fiscal year as program participants.

The pillar of the program curriculum is the following:

1. "Business Japanese Training" to study the Japanese necessary for communication and discussion after joining a Japanese company.
2. "Japanese Business Training" to study the Japanese business culture and customs that will be useful to you once you start working in Japan.
3. "Internships" that will allow you to experience Japanese companies and industries firsthand.
4. "Placement Support" that provide counseling on looking for work as well as job-hunting know-how.

In Japan, the process of searching for work begins the year before graduation. Like Japanese students, foreign students will be going on job interviews or taking employment exams. For this reason, the first year's curriculum focuses on content that will be useful to you in your job-hunting activities.

In the second year, classes will prepare you for the Japanese business scene in a curriculum that organically links training that includes working in small groups to do mock surveys, planning and presentations, as well as Business Japanese and Japanese Business classes that will enable foreign students to exhibit their capabilities once they start working in a Japanese-language environment. Furthermore, internships will be carried out in conjunction with such classroom lectures.

Many of the lecturers are people who have accumulated a wealth of experience in the Japanese business world. Furthermore, they have received special training for this curriculum so that they can not only conduct classes but also offer concrete support for students' job searching activities, such as job-placement counseling.

The curriculum was made possible through the know-how we at NPO WIL accumulated for about 20 years in promoting internships in Japan and with the cooperation of participating universities and companies.

There are many major Japanese corporations that are well known throughout the world. At the same time, there are also innumerable companies which may be small, but manufacture world-class products. There are also the energetic companies like IT venture firms. Regardless of the field, there are many, many companies that have high future potential. And, what is common to all of these companies is that they are all seeking talented foreign students like you.

If you attend one of the 18 universities that are currently participating in this project, please go to the relevant contact point at your university to find out more about taking advantage of this project. If you attend other universities, please contact the secretariat at Career Gateway to Asia.

You can find details about this program and contact information at NPO WIL's Career Gateway to Asia website:
http://www.wil-cga.org/

We look forward to your participation in the Career Gateway to Asia program.