Collaborative Agreement Between Global Information Career Academy and Gazillion to Support Foreign Students' Employment

Collaborative Agreement to Enhance Employment for Foreign Students

In a significant move to support foreign students in Japan, Gazillion Co., Ltd., led by CEO Hideitsu Suzuki, has entered into a comprehensive partnership with the Global Information Career Academy (formerly known as Towa IT Vocational School), under the leadership of Director Chōroku Hanamoto. This agreement seeks to bolster employment assistance and improve the communication between foreign students and potential employers.

The Rationale Behind the Agreement

As of 2024, Japan is expecting a record-breaking influx of 336,000 foreign students, a trend that is projected to continue. While the opportunities for study are vast, many of these students face numerous challenges in securing employment. One pressing issue is the limited availability of job listings targeted at foreign students, coupled with difficulties in gathering information in Japanese, which hampers their ability to research industries and companies effectively. The Global Information Career Academy has committed to addressing these challenges collaboratively with Gazillion, who actively welcomes foreign students into its programs.

Goals of the Collaborative Agreement

The points at the heart of this agreement reflect the unique nature of employment processes in Japan. Many international students struggle to adapt to the distinct phases and timelines of Japanese job hunting. Moreover, the predominance of a "job-type" employment model among foreign students often contrasts with the more common "membership-type" employment practices in Japanese companies. This discrepancy highlights the communication gap between foreign students and employers.

To remedy this, the partnership aims to create proactive avenues for interaction between companies and foreign students, starting as early as their study abroad experience. By fostering dialogue in ways that traditional job-hunting processes may overlook, the initiative aims to enhance mutual understanding of working styles prevalent in Japanese firms and the career aspirations of foreign students.

Areas of Cooperation

1. Promoting career education.
2. Enhancing understanding of local job opportunities.
3. Creating employment opportunities and supporting employment digital transformation (DX).
4. Fostering co-creation within the region.
5. Contributing to talent development.
6. Promoting academic research advancement.
7. Supporting broader industry-academia collaboration activities.

About the Global Information Career Academy

The Global Information Career Academy is dedicated to nurturing business professionals equipped to support the foundational framework of an increasingly digital society. By aligning educational facilities with societal needs, it trains specialists in information processing and information systems technology. The academy emphasizes delivering workforce-ready individuals essential across various industries. A name change is planned for April 2025, transitioning from its previous title as Towa IT Vocational School.

About Gazillion

Founded in 2023, Gazillion has developed the charitable service "ABC (Academy Business Connect)," pledging a portion of its profits to support educational initiatives. ABC facilitates casual dialogues between businesses and students, enhancing mutual understanding to achieve well-informed hiring decisions. This effort aims to tackle societal issues such as high turnover rates and encourages local employment for youth. Gazillion is characterized as a "zebra company"—an entity striving for both societal problem-solving and economic sustainability, a concept proposed by a female entrepreneur in the United States in 2017.