Approach of support for the regional employment of advanced ICT foreign engineers targeting the Japanese market utilizing education before coming to Japan for and short-term study abroad

There has been an issue of a mismatch between the types of businesses and occupations sought by international students and local communities when it comes to finding employment for international students in regional areas. Therefore, the University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki City office, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and local companies collaborated to implement the “Miyazaki-Bangladesh Model” to support the employment of highly skilled foreign professionals in the ICT field through education before coming to Japan “B-JET” and short-term study abroad “JIP”. For the B-JET, original Japanese language teaching materials were developed and used, and additionally, the class schedule and classroom management were similar to Japanese elementary and junior high schools with small classes in order to have the students acquire Japanese social customs. For JIP, in addition to Japanese language education, the students were given internships at companies that decide to employ them. At the same time, in order to promote cross-cultural understanding on the part of host companies that are not familiar with foreigners and to enhance their readiness to accept foreign engineers, company representatives as tutors were provided for support for students. As a result, 73% of the students who completed the B-JET, entered employment in Japanese companies, with one-third of them working for companies in Miyazaki Prefecture.