Cultivation and Utilization of Human Resources
Basic Concept
Strive to be an exceptional person—In order to be the global leader in its target fields, the Tsubaki Group seeks human resources who 1) continuously take on challenges with a desire for self-betterment, 2) constantly acquire advanced skills and continuously seek to enhance them, and 3) can take action under their own responsibility.
By offering opportunities for development, regardless of job type, we are strengthening the cultivation of young and global human resources, promoting the active participation of women, and improving skills.
Enhancing Our Training and Educational System
The drivers of the Group’s growth are the technological capabilities and advanced technical skills we have continuously refined as a manufacturer since our founding in 1917. With the aim of passing on expertise to the next generation and reinforcing technical skills, we launched the Tsubaki Techno School in April 1998 for young engineers. Subsequently, we expanded the curriculum to include technical and sales categories. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, we reorganized the curriculum by dividing it into a Techno School for engineers, a Skills School for technicians, and a Business School for office and sales staff. In doing so, we expanded and improved their respective courses.
By combining training by function with level-specific training across all job categories, we have generated a positive cycle in which we increase the awareness of employees and enhance technological and technical levels.
In order to secure sustainable educational opportunities even amidst Covid-19 pandemic, each school has been proactively incorporating online training methods, and training has proceeded roughly as planned.
* The Technology Forum and Technical Skills Olympics were canceled in FY 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Human Resources Training System (Tsubakimoto Chain)
Objective: To train personnel strategically and systematically with the ability to anticipate and flexibly respond to changes in the social environment while broadly contributing to society through their personal growth.
| Rank-specific Training | Training of new employees, follow-up training of new employees, and training after one year of employment |
|---|---|
| Training for supervisors, assistant managers, managers, and executives | |
| Logical thinking skills training, leadership development training, technical job training (beginner and intermediate levels) | |
| Function-specific Training | Engineering (Techno School) Beginner and intermediate technical courses (mechanical engineering, processing technology, and electricity and control), beginner and intermediate manufacturing courses, drafting classes |
| Sales: Sales skills (intermediate and advanced), basic skills training for the sales field | |
| Language Training | English language skills: Writing (beginner and advanced), presentations, meetings |
| International training for young employees | |
| Life Planning | Mid-career training, career training for mature employees, pre-retirement life planning |
| Other Training | Telecommunications training, intra-departmental training, and training for posting to external assignments |
1. Cultivation of Young Engineers
The Tsubaki Techno School conducts practical training using our original curriculum. It includes a beginners’ skills course, which deals with basic technologies and processing technologies, an intermediate skills course, which covers materials engineering, control engineering, and computer science, and more. In the intermediate course, young engineers improve their problem-solving capabilities in addition to enhancing their knowledge and skills through activities such as setting a topic from among workplace issues and implementing measures to resolve it. We are also developing human resources with proficiency in AI and IoT by incorporating new technological fields into the curriculum.
Besides this training, we are, through a Technology Forum at which departments present their latest technologies, widening opportunities for employees to share ideas, interact, and engage in co-creation in a way that transcends departments.
In addition, we assign young and mid-career engineers to outside seminars as a growth opportunity. There, they can learn advanced technologies and technology management and interact with engineers from outside the company. In the preceding fiscal year, 40 employees participated in 6 such seminars and conferences.
2. Improvement of Monozukuri Skills
The Tsubaki Group is making efforts to pass down and reinforce monozukuri (manufacturing) skills through (1) cultivating technicians, (2) a processing training program that, through hands-on instruction in basic technologies and skills, aims to pass down our company’s unique assets, and (3) cultivating next-generation employees by establishing the qualification of Master Craftsman, the highest ranking qualification for technicians, as well as Trainer, a job that provides technical skill instruction.
Since 2012, the Tsubaki Technical Skills Olympics have served as a platform for the mutual study and presentation of these skills. Outstanding technicians in the Tsubaki Group assemble to compete in eight events for all operation categories, such as Engine Lathe Operation, Welding, Measurement, and Freehand Drafting. Those with the best scores are given gold, silver, and bronze medals. Overseas Group companies have been taking part in this event since 2016, and this helps invigorate the organization via technological exchange among employees, between different business divisions, and between Japan and overseas, in addition to heightening technical skills.
Tsubaki Technical Skills Olympics
Cultivation of Global Human Resources
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, 59.0% of the Tsubaki Group’s total net sales came from outside Japan. Currently, 51.5% of all group employees are working at locations outside Japan.
This situation has made the cultivation and strengthening of globally minded human resources a task of extreme importance for the Group. We introduced our global trainee system in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011. This system allows young Japanese employees to be assigned to subsidiaries outside Japan for one year of training. This experience is intended to expose them to other languages and international business practices while helping them better understand other cultures. Although the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic compelled us to suspend these assignments for some months, we have succeeded in assigning 112 young employees to other countries under this system.
In addition, we are focusing on developing and strengthening our human resources around the world through cross-cultural communication training and month-long language training for new employees.
Global Trainees (Tsubakimoto Chain, non-consolidated)
| Fiscal Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of employees dispatched | 14 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 4 |
Topics: Online Global Training for New Employees
The 40 new graduates who joined our company in FY 2020 were divided into two groups for our online global training for new employees. This four-day program sought to develop familiarity with speaking with people from other countries, promote development of a proactive attitude toward communication, and motivate the participants to learn other languages. Under the guidance of an outside lecturer with extensive international experience, participants developed practical communication skills through group work with international students and deepened their understanding of working overseas through a Q&A session with our overseas trainees.
This training program provided many insights for the participants, such as the awareness that one could still communicate even in imperfect broken English, and that it was important to have a confident attitude when speaking up. We will continue to offer programs that promote self-improvement, including language learning, and provide opportunities for employees to envision their own international activities.
