What is Career Consultant, Japan(National License)?

A career consultant is a national qualification

A career consultant is a national qualification established in April 2016 in Japan, which is a specialist who designs life career according to individual aptitude and work experience.

Career consultants are needed in a wide range of fields, including corporate personnel and education-related departments, university career centers, public employment support agencies, and recruitment and temporary staffing companies.

Career consultants need to join requited training and should be renewed every 5 years after registration.

Background

In order to sustain economic growth in rapidly changing environment surrounding companies, it is important for the country to create an environment in which workers can acquire the habit of thinking independently about their careers.

How many consultants are registered?

As of May 2021, the number of register is 60,000 consultants in Japan.

Is it an occupational license?

It is so called, name exclusive qualification. Unless you are a qualified person, you cannot call yourself a "career consultant".

How can Japanese get qualification？

To become a career consultant, you must pass a national qualification exam.　The national exam includes a practical exam and a written exam, each with a passing rate of around 60%.To become a career consultant, you must pass both exams.

To qualify for the national exam, you must complete a curriculum at a designated training school(around 145 hours) or have work equivalent experience to support client's career.

Japanese Career Consultant Pros and Cons

By having many career consultants with basic consultant skills play an active role in the market, it is possible to promote career autonomy of workers.

However, the problems are that Japanese companies do not want career consultants, and their job opportunity is still limited. Also their salaries are still low.