Historical Significance of the Yōseikō system during the High Economic Growth Period as a Turning Point: Coincidence and Conflict between Yōseikō’s demands and Companies’ needs

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine the historical significance of the Yōseikō system during the Japan’s high economic growth period from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. In particular, I address the following questions: (1) Why did junior high school graduates apply for Yōseikō? (2) Why did companies hire and train Yōseikō? (3) What significance and problems were there in the Yōseikō system? </p><p>For this purpose, I adopt the qualitative research method and use the Yōseikō’s essays which are included in “Lives of working youth” from 1955 to 1972 edited by the Women’s and Minor’s Bureau of the Ministry of Labor and magazine articles by the personnel management officers and others. “Yōseikō” in this article is defined as “junior-high school graduates undergoing training in corporate apprenticeship schools and those who had already completed 2, 3 or 4 years of such training in post-war Japan.” </p><p>Yōseikō’s essays revealed that many junior high school graduates applied for Yōseikō because of their families’ poverty especially from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. However, the number of junior high school graduates who applied for Yōseikō because of their interests in work and demands for learning increased after the mid-1960s. This change suggests that the main reasons for applying changed with the development of Japanese economy.</p><p>According to Nippon Kokan (NKK) documents and magazine articles by NKK personnel management officers, NKK expected Yōseikō to become mid-level workers and managers with loyalty and thought Yōseikō had the high ability to work with new technology and actually utilized them as operators of new machines in rolling plants. The Yōseikō system had significance in coordinating junior high school graduates’ demands with companies’ needs, but it had problems in that it could not necessarily meet junior high school graduates’ demands for learning and companies’ changed needs. </p>