Labor Market for IT Engineers and Their Work Careers: A Survey in the Kyushu Region

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  • 九州における情報技術者の職業キャリアと労働市場
  • キュウシュウ ニ オケル ジョウホウ ギジュツシャ ノ ショクギョウ キャリア ト ロウドウ シジョウ

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Abstract

In Japan, the information service industry has recorded a sharp increase in sales since the 1980s, which has produced great demand for IT engineers. Firms located in metropolitan areas have been trying to meet the demand by employing IT engineers who have nonmetropolitan origins. However, they tend to expect to return to live in their hometowns. Therefore firms, especially large computer makers, locate their subsidiaries or branch offices outside metropolitan areas to hire returned migrants and hometown-oriented engineers.<br> In this paper, the author examines the labor market for IT engineers and their work careers based on a questionnaire survey of IT engineers working in information service firms located in the Kyushu region. IT engineers often move between firms and between regions. Sixty percent of respondents had experienced a change in their employment and 36% had previously worked outside the Kyushu region. Among respondents, aged 36 years or older, engineers who had previously worked outside the Kyushu region were in the majority. Thus return migrants play an important role in the labor market for IT engineers in the Kyushu region.<br> As they advance in age, the occupations of IT engineers shift from programmer to systems engineer, and then some are promoted to manager. These occupational changes occur with both transfers and moves between firms. The annual wage level of engineers increases in relation to age. Moving between firms does not lower the annual wage level of those who are experienced if the move is within the Kyushu region. Return migrants usually worked at larger firms before they came back to the Kyushu region and appear to acquire a fairly high skill level. The annual wage level is negatively affected if they move from firms located outside the Kyushu region to firms in Kyushu. This indicates that there is a mismatch between jobs and applicants when return migrants seek jobs. Return migrants must collect information about jobs far away from the orgins and have difficulty making contact with employers. To reduce the disadvantages of return migrants and make the most of the skills they have, an interactive job search information system should be provided.

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