Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and NCB Research & Consulting Co., Ltd. (NCB Research & Consulting) today announced the signing of a business agreement regarding support for foreign human resources, mainly foreign students. Leveraging the experience and expertise it has accumulated over many years in training foreign seafarers, MOL has developed a foreign human resources consulting business, which trains and places workers in a wide range of industries, serving companies that are considering hiring new employees from abroad or expanding their recruitment of foreign personnel.
NCB Research & Consulting is a subsidiary of Nishi-Nippon Financial Holdings, Inc., whose core company is The Nishi-Nippon City Bank, Ltd. (NCB). NCB Research & Consulting provides recruiting support services to companies doing business with NCB by partnering with recruiting agencies to introduce domestic and foreign personnel whose skills and experience match client companies’ needs. Through this business alliance, NCB Research & Consultants will introduce MOL to companies, mainly in Kyushu, that are considering hiring new foreign personnel or expanding their overseas hiring. MOL in turn will match and introduce foreign personnel, mainly foreign students enrolled at universities and other institutions mainly in Kyushu, to the relevant companies. This marks MOL’s first entry into a business alliance with a financial group for recruitment of foreign personnel. Through the alliance, MOL, which has a wealth of experience in recruiting foreign personnel, and NCB Research & Consulting, which has a diverse client base, will leverage each other’s strengths to connect prospective employees and companies beyond national borders and help address labor shortages in local industries in Japan and promote the sustainable growth of local communities.
2. Expected effects of this business alliance
(1) Employers
By employing foreign students who have lived in Japan and become familiar with Japanese culture while learning Japanese, companies can reduce the burden of language education and daily life support, as well as facilitate smoother integration among employees.
(2) Foreign students
By introducing foreign students who wish to work in Kyushu, a place with which they are familiar, to companies in Kyushu, the program expands the options available to foreign students after graduation.
(3) Local economy
Employing talented foreign students in Kyushu who have acquired advanced knowledge and skills by attending universities and other institutions mainly in Kyushu will lead to further development and globalization of the Kyushu economy.
