An interim report examining the capabilities and promotion measures needed for career consulting to adapt to changes in economic and social conditions.
Key Points
1. Environmental Changes Surrounding Career Consulting
- Changes in employment structure due to declining birthrate and aging population, diversification of work values and lifestyles, extension of working life
- Companies need to cultivate autonomous human resources through optimal personnel allocation and enhanced engagement
- Labor demand changing significantly due to DX and AI technology advancement, rapidly changing required skills
- Workers' "career autonomy" (proactive skill development and labor mobility as needed) becomes essential
2. Capabilities Required for Future Career Consulting
- Adaptability to Environmental Changes: Shift from "solution-based" to "development-based" support, consultation skills to promote workers' self-insight
- Information Utilization Skills: Ability to grasp and utilize latest information on labor markets, occupations/skills, training, support systems
- Matching Support Skills: Not just presenting destinations but adjusting conditions through engagement with both workers and companies
- In-company Support Skills: Collaboration with management, support for introducing self-career docks, proposal capabilities for organizational issues
3. Current Status and Challenges of Career Consultants
- Approximately 80,000 registered as of end of March 2025, activity areas: companies ~40%, supply-demand adjustment agencies ~20%, educational institutions ~20%
- About 30% of registrants do not engage in career consulting related activities
- Top reason companies don't implement is "no requests from workers," but actual cause is lack of awareness
- Lack of systematic mechanisms to acquire capabilities required for each activity area
4. Future Direction for Capability Development and Utilization Promotion
- Appropriate updating of course content according to changes in economic and social conditions
- Clarification of career consultants' growth paths and course systems according to activity areas and levels
- Widespread dissemination of specific use cases and significance/effects, utilization of visualization and quantification indicators
- Promotion of on-site implementation of measures under the Vocational Ability Development Promotion Act, facilitating participation of professionals in specialized industries
The article concludes that through widespread promotion of career autonomy initiatives, the establishment and development of career consulting is expected.