日本大规模招收应届毕业生制度正迎来转折点

在日本，有一种独特的制度，叫做“应届毕业生大量招聘”。公司每年同期招聘应届毕业生，并在他们还在校期间对其进行面试和测试。然后，他们雇用一定数量的学生，并让他们毕业后立即工作。

In Japan, there is a unique system for hiring new graduates en masse. Companies conduct interviews and tests while students are still in school, and they hire a certain number of students to begin working immediately after graduation. This recruitment system allows companies to hire employees in a lump sum, training all recruits at once and then utilizing them as part of the workforce.

在日本，有一套独特的集体招聘应届毕业生的制度。企业在学生在校期间进行面试和测试，并聘用一定数量的学生，毕业后立即开始工作。这种招聘系统允许公司一次性雇用员工，一次性培训所有新员工，然后将他们作为劳动力的一部分使用。

In the past, this system was very effective in securing a large amount of uniform labor for the mass production of high-quality products, which in turn supported Japan's rapid postwar growth. In June s1953, the Japanese government made an agreement with schools and companies regarding the hiring process under this system. The hiring process would begin in mid-October of the year before graduation and last about one month.

过去，这种制度非常有效地保证了大量的统一劳动力，以大规模生产高质量的产品，从而支撑了日本战后的快速增长。 1953年6月，日本政府与学校和公司就该制度下的招聘程序达成协议。招聘过程将于毕业前一年的10月中旬开始，持续一个月左右。

However, this agreement was abolished in 1996. The penalty for violating the agreement was minimal, and many companies began to neglect the agreement. Since then, most Japanese companies have based their recruitment on the mass hiring of new graduates without strict rules.

然而，该协议于1996年被废除。违反该协议的处罚微乎其微，许多公司开始忽视该协议。此后，大多数日本公司的招聘都是以大量招聘应届毕业生为基础，没有严格的规定。

Limits of Mass Recruiting

大规模招聘的局限性

In recent years, competition among companies for human resources has intensified. An increasing number of companies are beginning to screen university students long before the official job-hunting period under the mass recruiting system. They do this through what they call an internship program.

近年来，企业之间对人力资源的竞争愈演愈烈。越来越多的企业早在正式求职期之前就开始通过大规模招聘制度筛选大学生。他们通过所谓的实习计划来做到这一点。

This mass recruitment system worked well during the high-growth period. However, is it effective for today's Japanese companies, where lifetime employment and seniority systems are collapsing? And will it be able to compete with foreign companies that do not follow this system and hire year-round? Amid these questions, this mass recruiting system has reached a turning point.

这种大规模招聘制度在高增长时期发挥了良好的作用。然而，对于当今终身雇佣制和年资制正在崩溃的日本企业来说，这有效吗？它是否能够与不遵循这一制度并常年雇用的外国公司竞争？带着这些疑问，这个大规模的招募系统已经到了一个转折点。

Studying or Job-Seeking?

读书还是找工作？

From the perspective of educators, it is time to rethink the system of mass recruiting new graduates. During my time as a lecturer at Waseda University, I was often frustrated by last-minute absence notices from students just before class.

从教育工作者的角度来看，是时候重新思考大规模招收应届毕业生的制度了。在早稻田大学担任讲师期间，我经常因学生在上课前最后一刻发出缺席通知而感到沮丧。

My classes emphasized presentations and group discussions, which meant the absence of a student from a part of the class for which he or she was responsible caused inconvenience to other students. It necessitated a change in the schedule for the next and subsequent classes.

我的课程强调演示和小组讨论，这意味着学生缺席他或她负责的班级部分会给其他学生带来不便。它需要改变下一堂课和后续课程的时间表。

In one instance, a student was summoned by a company that was a major member of Keidanren. It coincided with the day Keidanren's announcement that it would not discourage students from studying during job-hunting was reported in the press.

有一次，一名学生被一家经济团体联的主要成员公司传唤。恰逢经济团体联宣布不会阻止学生在求职期间学习的消息被媒体报道。

The mission of universities is to provide young people with the basic knowledge to enter the workforce during the transition from student to professional life. In Japan today, however, many young people are entering the workforce with inadequate education. The time they should be spending on their studies is being cut short by job-hunting activities.

大学的使命是为年轻人提供从学生到职业生涯过渡期间进入劳动力市场的基础知识。然而，在今天的日本，许多年轻人在未受过充分教育的情况下进入劳动力市场。他们本应花在学习上的时间因求职活动而缩短。

No Time to Study

没有时间学习

The practice of hiring all new graduates at once was effective during the high-growth period, but it is not suited to the current era. If many companies adopted a year-round hiring system instead, students would be able to focus on their studies and personal development. Universities would also be able to raise the level of education.

一次性聘用所有应届毕业生的做法在高增长时期是有效的，但不适合当今时代。如果许多公司采用全年招聘制度，学生就可以专注于学习和个人发展。大学也将能够提高教育水平。

The stereotype of Japanese university students has been that they enter university after facing fierce competition in entrance examinations. However, after entering the university, they spend their time in club activities and part-time jobs, somehow graduate, and find employment without much effort.

日本大学生的刻板印象是，他们在面临激烈的入学考试竞争后进入大学。然而，进入大学后，他们把时间花在社团活动和打工上，不知怎么就毕业了，不费吹灰之力就找到了工作。

Recently, however, an increasing number of students are spending much longer on job hunting. They have no time for study, let alone club activities or part-time jobs.

然而最近，越来越多的学生花在找工作上的时间越来越长。他们没有时间学习，更没有时间参加社团活动或打工。

Decline of Japanese Universities

日本大学的衰落

Some universities are compensating for the decline in student enrollment caused by Japan's declining births by enrolling more foreign students. Others are moving to consolidate their operations with other financially struggling universities. The plight of Japanese universities is becoming more serious. At the same time, the quality of education at Japanese universities is being questioned.

一些大学正在通过招收更多外国学生来弥补日本出生率下降造成的入学人数下降。其他大学则开始与其他陷入财务困境的大学整合业务。日本大学的困境正变得更加严重。与此同时，日本大学的教育质量也受到质疑。

In the past, Japanese companies used in-house training programs to teach new hires the basics of business operations and interpersonal skills. Moreover, they gave new hires thorough and detailed employee training as if to say, "Forget everything you learned in college because it is useless, and start learning the basics today."

过去，日本公司利用内部培训计划向新员工传授业务运营和人际交往基础知识。而且，他们对新员工进行了全面细致的员工培训，仿佛在说：“忘记大学里学到的一切，因为它们没有用，从今天开始学习基础知识。”

However, few companies in Japan today can afford to train their employees as much as before. In recent years, an increasing number of people working for companies in Japan regret not studying more during their school years.

然而，如今的日本很少有公司能够像以前那样承担得起培训员工的费用。近年来，越来越多的日本企业员工后悔在学生时代没有多学习。

Job Dissatisfaction

工作不满意

Gallup, an American research firm, annually surveys workers aged 15 and older in nearly 160 countries to determine employee engagement - in other words, the degree of involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace.

美国研究公司盖洛普每年都会对近 160 个国家/地区 15 岁及以上的员工进行调查，以确定员工敬业度，换句话说，即员工对工作和工作场所的参与程度和热情。

According to the company's report for FY2023, the percentage of "employees who are motivated and proactive about their work" was only 6% in Japan. Compared to 23% for the world and 33% for the United States, Japan's figure is notably low.

根据该公司2023财年的报告，日本“对工作积极主动的员工”比例仅为6%。与世界23%和美国33%相比，日本的这一数字明显偏低。

In contrast, the "percentage of people who

相比之下，“