Foreign Technical Intern Training Program

The Technical Intern Training Program is modeled after a well-regarded training program for the training of employees of foreign subsidiaries in the latter half of the 1960s. The current program was formally implemented in 1993.

The goal of the Technical Intern Training Program is to promote international cooperation. The program assists developing countries by sharing the skills, technology, and knowledge developed in Japan with them, and by contributing to the training of talent who will be responsible for the economic development of these countries. It’s also written in Article 3 Item 2 of the Technical Training Laws that, as a basic principle, technical training is done as a way to adjust the supply and demand of labor.

In the Technical Intern Training Program, foreign technical interns enter into an employment relationship with companies in Japan, and can learn skills that are difficult to acquire in their own countries. The maximum period of time is 5 years, and the training is carried out based on a technical training plan.

There are 2 types of acceptance methods for foreign interns. Companies can accept interns under the acceptance managed by individual enterprise method, where they implement training programs on their own. Organizations that do not aim for the profit of business cooperatives and the Society of Commerce and Industry also accept foreign interns. Companies under this umbrella accept interns through the acceptance supervised by organization method. At the end of 2016, 3.6% of foreign intern acceptance was with the acceptance managed by individual enterprise method, while 96.4% was done with the acceptance supervised by organization method.

When technical interns arrive in Japan, they first take courses on Japanese language education and the necessary knowledge about the legal protections they have as foreign interns. Under the employment relationships they have with Japanese companies and other organizations, foreign interns work to learn practical knowledge.

[Reference site] Japan International Training Cooperartion Organiztion