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The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare aims to increase opportunities for workers and job seekers to relearn (recurrent education), and recommends that many people acquire new skills. On the other hand, business people are also increasing the number of cases where they start re-learning in order to advance their careers. Re-learn Reiwa and approach the latest circumstances. (Seidansha, Kayo Majima) ● The advent of the era of 100-year lifespans will affect re-learning.Decades after entering society, many middle-aged and older business people have fewer opportunities to learn new skills. right. Under such circumstances, in recent years, attention has been focused on ``re-learning for working people''. “Relearning” refers to people going out into the world and working to gain new knowledge at various educational institutions. "That's what Sakon Uda, vice president of Business Breakthrough University (BBT), who is familiar with the relearning scene of working adults, said. Mr. Uda explains why there is a growing need for re-learning.
"One is the full-fledged arrival of the 100-year life era. In the past, people started from compulsory education and studied for about 20 years, worked for about 40 years, and lived on pensions for about 10 years after retirement. However, as medical care advances and pension issues remain unresolved, people in their 40s and older who are about to reach retirement age are increasingly worried about their lives after retirement. In many cases, they search for how to spend the rest of their lives and start re-learning.” The second reason is the ``sense of crisis'' that applies to the younger generation, says Mr. Uda. In particular, it is said that the sense of danger of being left behind by rapidly evolving digital technology is likely to be a trigger. “The evolution of technology in recent years has been remarkable, and companies are promoting the digitalization of all aspects of their operations. The digital-related skills learned at school in the early 20th century are no longer usable, and there is a high possibility that the skills and techniques learned at the company after entering the workforce will not be useful outside the company. People who feel uneasy about their 'market value', such as careers they have achieved, tend to relearn." It is said that there are students from a wide range of age groups, from those in their 70s to those in their 70s, and students from various occupations. "Our school has two departments, the 'Global Management Department' and the 'IT Solutions Department', and the feature is that you can learn management practically online.Students' occupations include office workers, chefs, and former athletes. Various.There are middle-aged men who want to learn management from the basics after inheriting their parents' business, and there are women who majored in global management at BBT and stepped up from back-office operations to front-line operations." It is said that those who have re-learned even once will acquire the attitude to continue learning even after graduation. "When I re-learn, I can see more and more what I'm lacking in, and I feel the need to learn more deeply. To build a new career, I need to keep learning."
● The number of schools offering online classes is increasing. How should we go about "re-learning", which is related to future career development? In the past, it was common practice to "go to graduate school and acquire an MBA (Master of Business Administration) while working" or "attend an English conversation school," but Mr. Uda says, "I would like to encourage online learning." “In the past, the mainstream was to actually go to school. You can take lectures anywhere.BBT has been conducting classes completely online since its opening.Recently, due to the corona crisis, the number of schools conducting classes online is increasing, so please take advantage of them. I want you to." The next thing we need is a place to discuss with teachers and students. Teachers and students answer students' questions about the content of the lecture one-on-one, provide feedback on student remarks, and have opportunities for students to discuss with each other, enabling them to express their own thoughts. “The third important thing is to have the opportunity to express your own opinion. Opportunities for output are important. It is necessary to acquire the ability to communicate through discussions with teachers and assignment presentations such as reports.For example, even if you improve your TOEIC score by re-learning, it is meaningless if you cannot speak in your own words. There is a need for re-learning to acquire the necessary skills." Mr. Uda says that choosing a place to study with the above conditions in mind along with the content of the course will easily lead to career advancement. “Some middle-aged and older people may be hesitant, thinking, ‘It might be too late to relearn now.’ However, relearning is neither too early nor too late. The age at which you start doesn't matter at all, so when you start to worry about your career, it's better to think of it as the right time to relearn."
● The reason for obtaining an MBA was "impatientness" We also interviewed a business person who actually re-learned and changed his career significantly. Yoshiyuki Koganezawa, who works as an engineer at the engineering firm Meitec Co., Ltd. He attended business school for two years from 2017 and obtained an MBA at the age of 44. “My specialty is control system software development. While working as a full-time employee at Meitec, my main duties were to be dispatched to customer sites to create design specifications and program and control. Currently, I'm working as a consultant in 'business development work', where I create new ideas and launch businesses at client sites." It is said that the chance to become interested in "MBA" to learn was a meeting at a certain exchange meeting. “I used to think that an MBA is a degree that entrepreneurs and the elite of large companies obtain, and that it has nothing to do with me. It all started when I met an engineer who had done a lot of work and was shocked by the thought that ``There are engineers who have taken an MBA''. I was also feeling impatient,” recalls Mr. Koganezawa. “Recently, the seniority system and lifetime employment have collapsed, and the form of employment is changing rapidly, and the world is unstable. , I think it made my interest in MBA stronger." Mr. Koganezawa started attending business school at Nagoya University of Commerce soon after. It is said that there were no other engineers at the school other than him. “I tend to be very cautious when it comes to work, but in my private life, I am optimistic, and I am the type of person who starts with momentum and says, ‘Let’s try it anyway. Most of the students around me were salaried workers working for foreign-affiliated companies or financial institutions, and my classmates often asked me why I enrolled.” However, when the student life began, it is said that the days of friendly competition among students were waiting for them. I had a pretty hard day, spending everything except work, eating, and sleeping on my studies. “In that case, you have no choice but to have fun. In the limited time of 24 hours, you can not waste even a short time to balance work and study. I devoted the extra time to studying.While doing so, I became able to visualize my "wasted time".Although not as much as when I was in school, I still use my spare time to update my knowledge."
Mr. Koganezawa finished his two years of graduate school life. Now that he has an MBA, he says that the world he sees is completely different from before. "More than anything else, my perspective has broadened. In the past, I didn't really understand the essence of the messages sent by the company's management or the management policy, but now I can accept them with a sense of conviction. As a result, I have become able to act as a bridge between the thinking of the field and management.This is a great value and asset for me.” I can feel it going up," says Koganezawa. In fact, it was rare for an external human resource to expand the range of his career, such as being involved in "new business development" at a customer's site. “Many people may have an image of re-learning as “aggressive.” But from now on, I think there will be more people like me who are re-learning with a “defensive” mindset. Repairing has become an indispensable means to maintain my market value.So, I am not finished with my MBA, I still input new information at webinars and output it in my work. There's no end to learning..." Mr. Koganezawa gives advice, "You are free to stop in the middle, so feel free to start." It will be important for future business people not only to relearn, but also to “continue learning”. Sakon Uda Vice President, Dean, and Professor of Business Breakthrough University Graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, completed the master's program at the same graduate school, and completed the Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Chicago. Joined McKinsey & Company after working at Nippon Kokan (now JFE). Currently, while serving as an executive in various companies, he teaches at Business Breakthrough University.
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