A Policy Instrument for Motivating Young People who are Not in Education,Employment or Training (in Japanese)

In the UK, young people who are not seeking employment, but on the other hand are not receiving higher education nor vocational training in order to acquire professional skills are referred to as "NEET; Not in Education, Employment, or Training". It has been pointed out in the UK that approximately 9 per cent of upper teens are NEETs. The Social Exclusion Unit that was set up under the Cabinet's Office in 1997 has been engaged in individual action for the socially excluded, including NEETs. However, NEETs is a problem not limited to the UK. It is definitely getting more serious in Japan as well. The Japanese version of NEETs numbers a mere 100 thousand as of 1998 and is rapidly increasing, especially since 2002. There is a high possibility that most NEETs don't even seek job assistance. Considering what kind of individual assistance measures are necessary and effective for young people who are practically excluded from almost all actual job assistance measures will be an urgent theme for the future social economic situation as well. Equally indispensable is setting up a mechanism that to the utmost does not produce young people who will be socially excluded. Here lies the main reason for which we focused on the job-experiencing program for 14-year-olds in Hyogo and Toyama Prefectures. What are the actual effects of the job-experiencing program for 14-year-olds in the two prefectures? First to mention is the overwhelming positive evaluation by the person who experienced the program. More surprising is the fact that among students not attending school, those who participated fully during the 5 days improved their school attendance rate. Two months after the program was implemented, approximately 1 out of every 3 students who participated fully improved their school attendance rate compared to the past. The fact is that since the 1990s, it has not been possible to put the brakes on the tendencial increase and there is no clear prescription for junior high school students leaving school, which continuously exceeds 100 thousand students annually. Under these circumstances, the significance of the job-experiencing program for 14-year-olds, which provides a ray of hope, partially as it may be, for a chance to search for a place to be and make a fresh start, is not small. The efforts of the two local governments of Hyogo and Toyama Prefectures are producing certain results because a distinct "system" which embodies purpose and method of administration exists. Regarding the basic structure of the system, especially important are the following 7 points. (1) Necessity of implementing the program during 5 days (2) receiving students in small groups (3) mechanism for allowing the students themselves to think about the workplace where they wish to obtain their job experience (4) coordinated exploration between school, community and family, regarding the receiving institution (5) careful attention against accidents (6) implementation by all public junior high schools within the local government district (7) priority of the initiative of the school, community and family. When considering the concrete effects of the 1-week experimental activity that targets all 2nd year junior high school students in the community's public schools, and its administration method established as a system, to expand a similar system nationwide and not limit it partially to a few local governments is urgent and necessary as one most effective prevention measure against the expansion of jobless young people. In this, there exists a clear reason why it should correspond fully as an employment measure on a nationwide scale. After graduating from junior high school in Toyama Prefecture, the student's future employment will not be limited to within the prefecture and obtaining employment in another local government becomes very much possible. It should be judged that there is a high possibility that the merit of young people possessing adequate occupational abilities would spread nationwide, and it can be stated that there exists a legitimate reason for the state to be involved and to bear expenses for such purpose and not limit it to the local government.