Nagoya University's Career Support Center, which has a total of 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students, has been providing career support tailored to the times for each student, including international students and students with disabilities, while keeping an eye on "changes in the employment market." In many cases, past measures have been brushed up and linked to new measures, and the person at the center of career support is Yasuhiro Doi, director of the Career Support Center and professor at the Graduate School of Economics. We spoke with Doi about the career support the Career Support Center envisions and the "Leadership Development Course" held in 2024.

Students, international students, and students with disabilities: Supporting students' career development with an eye on the job market

　Nagoya University has nine faculties and 9 graduate schools, including those of Letters, Education, Law, Economics, Information, Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture, with a total of nearly 13 students studying at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Career Support Center provides career support based on three pillars, so that all students can achieve their career aspirations.

　"The Career Support Center was established in 2017, and we reviewed the career support we had been providing up until then, which was mainly focused on providing job information, and settled on the current support system," says Doi Yasuhiro, director of the Career Support Center. Doi is a professor at the Graduate School of Economics, and he and a team of 16 staff members are in charge of supporting students' careers. In addition to having dedicated staff members provide student consultations, the center plans and manages more than 150 career-related events, large and small, each year, and its first axis is "generous support that is close to students."

　"The second axis is career support for international students. We have over 2 international students enrolled, and 2,000 of them find employment in companies in Japan after graduating from our university. We have previously focused on supporting employment for international students, but when we were selected for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's ``International Student Employment Promotion Program,'' we further expanded our support system. We have formed a consortium of local universities, public institutions, companies, and organizations to promote employment for international students in Japan," says Doi.

　The third axis is career support for students with disabilities or those in the gray zone of developmental disorders. "There are quite a few students who have excellent academic ability but struggle with job hunting. That's why we hold job-hunting consultation sessions aimed not only at students but also at their parents, as well as individual consultation sessions where students can share their honest thoughts with companies."

　Doi, who has studied economics for many years, believes that "the ability to provide support that takes the market into account is a major factor in the success of career support. The economy is about supply and demand -- in other words, if the seller and buyer are not satisfied, the transaction will not be completed. In career support, too, it is important to provide the necessary support while identifying what the employment market is looking for."

　No matter how talented a student is, if they do not meet the needs of the market, their job hunt will be difficult. There is a danger that it will not work if you think, "This student is excellent, so companies will appreciate him without doing anything." Therefore, Doi approaches both companies and students. As Doi says, "In some cases, by carefully engaging in repeated dialogue with companies that had no track record of hiring international students, the company's human resources staff realized that there was a demand for international students," and the effects of reaching out to both companies and students are steadily appearing. This is the result of the 16 staff members, including Doi, acting as an organization, constantly sharing information, repeatedly discussing, and exploring how to provide support.
Yasuhiro Doi, Director of the Career Support Center, has been identifying changes in the employment market and exploring the best way to provide support while carefully engaging in dialogue with students and companies.

Focus on nurturing talented people with leadership skills who can contribute to the local community and play an active role internationally

　The Tokai region, where Nagoya University is based, is known as one of the leading manufacturing centers in Japan. "Due to the nature of the region, there are very many jobs in the manufacturing industry, which is a major strength of our university. On the other hand, there are not as many jobs in the mass media, trading companies, consulting firms, etc. as there are in manufacturing. In career education, it is important to consider cultivating human resources who can contribute to the region as well as be active internationally. Therefore, we are always looking for the type of human resources that are needed as global standards," says Doi.

"For example, communication skills. Not just language, but also facial expressions, gestures, and the ability to convey your thoughts to others. Speed ​​and an active attitude are also necessary. At our university, where there are many international students, you can improve these skills through interactions with them."

　Another thing that Doi emphasizes in career education is "leadership development."

"In the past, leadership in Japan was assumed by the head of an organization or team. The leader would lead the team by example. That was the way leadership was in Japan. However, times have changed, and the definition of leadership has changed as well. We have entered an era in which leadership is not only exercised by the head of a team, but also by each individual member."

　Doi's definition of leadership is mutual support and sharing of issues. When working on a new project as a team, it means supporting the members and sometimes the leader. Or building a relationship where you can support each other. This "mutual support" is also one concept of leadership. And "sharing issues" is important when moving a project forward. What is the current progress, and what issues have arisen? If issues are shared, each person will be able to be aware of their own role and smoothly lead the issues to resolution.

　"Mutual support and sharing of issues are important elements of leadership required for a team to exert its strength," says Doi. Therefore, in order to foster leadership while enrolled, a new initiative was restarted in 2024, the "Leadership Development Course" for students in the Faculty of Economics.
"Rather than just developing leaders who can lead a team, it is important to develop individuals who can develop leadership skills and demonstrate their abilities as part of a team," says Doi.