OSAKA - As of July, high school students across Japan have effectively begun their job hunt, entering a job market where demand far exceeds supply. With a record-high job-offer-to-applicant ratio of 4.1, companies are fiercely competing to secure these “golden eggs”—young workers straight out of high school—who are seen as a valuable alternative to university graduates.
One example is Erina Ota, a 24-year-old employee at the major conveyor belt sushi chain Sushiro. Based at the bustling Sushiro outlet inside the Osaka Expo grounds, Ota is already managing the store just six years after joining the company directly out of high school.
"I started part-time in my first year of high school and realized how much I enjoyed working," said Ota. "I began questioning whether going to university without a clear goal would really benefit my future."
Her leadership is so trusted that older colleagues speak of her with admiration. "She's reliable beyond her years, someone I genuinely respect," said one coworker.
This growing interest in high school graduates was evident in a job experience fair held in May in Osaka, where 77 companies and organizations gathered to court students. Many offered benefits on par with those available to university graduates.
A logistics firm, for instance, highlighted full financial support for certification training. "You get a salary and qualifications—what more could you want?" a representative said. "High school grads are golden eggs. We can’t get enough of them."
Even a security company promoted its employee perk of unlimited streaming video access to appeal to younger recruits.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the job-offer ratio for high school graduates expected to finish in March 2025 stands at 4.1 times nationwide, far surpassing the 1.75 times for university graduates. While Japan’s chronic labor shortage plays a role, many firms express a clear preference for hiring high school graduates.
"Many students want to enter the workforce early and gain skills quickly," said a representative from an auto-related company. "Their attitude toward work is often more grounded."
"High schoolers come to us with the drive to earn money and succeed," added a system engineering firm.
Some companies are also starting to recruit high school graduates for the first time. One Tokyo-based IT firm with around 40 employees hired 18-year-old Momoka Kunikane this April. She was the only student in her public high school class to choose employment over further study.
"Because I jumped straight into real-world experience, I feel like I’ve gained more than my peers in university," said Kunikane. "I want to get married in my early twenties, so saving money now seems smart."
Although she had no programming experience, Kunikane joined as a systems engineer and began her first training session on the day of the interview. She’s already leaving a strong impression.
"I was starting to feel jaded in my fourth year on the job," said one colleague. "But Kunikane keeps asking ‘why’ until she understands, which reminded me not to give up on truly learning."
Masahiro Ito, CEO of MAP Management, which hired Kunikane, said: "If someone has clear goals and strong motivation, there are real advantages to hiring them out of high school rather than after university. We get four more years to develop them."
Still, the growing trend of hiring high school graduates also raises questions.
Broadcaster Shohei Fujimori noted that the motivation and positive energy of high school recruits can energize teams. Commentator Takuji Izawa, known for his work on the quiz show "Quiz! The University of Tokyo," added: "It may sound strange coming from me, but I think it’s time we reexamine the value of academic credentials."
He cited the concept of signaling in microeconomics, where educational background serves as a proxy for productivity. However, this only holds if studying is easier for high-productivity individuals and more difficult for low-productivity ones. Without that condition, academic qualifications lose their reliability as indicators of ability.
The surge in hiring high school graduates may be prompting a broader rethink about what really signals value in the workplace.
Source: TBS
