Training Workers for Agriculture

Tuesday, October 4, 2005 Posted: 10:21 AM JST

Following the complete lifting of bans on participation of private firms and NPOs in agriculture, PASONA, a leading temporary employment agency, and Wakayama Prefecture, among others, have announced that they will launch projects to train workers for agricultural jobs. These projects aim to contribute to supplying labor to private firms venturing into the agricultural sector by conducting full-fledged training on agriculture.

Where efforts to increase workers in the sector are concerned, agricultural villages have already been offering opportunities to participate in farming and training programs. But a special feature of the latest project, realized in collaboration with private firms, municipalities, agricultural cooperatives is to have trainees experience all of the processes involved in agriculture - from cultivating farm products to selling them.

Target participants in the program - that is, workers considered suitable to engage in agriculture - are middle-aged and elderly persons, since the baby-boomers who made great contributions to the Japanese economy will be reaching their mandatory retirement age starting in 2007.

Source: The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

Keywords: national_news

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