新卒就職対策 成長戦略こそ最大の支援策だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 7, 2010)
Growth strategy key to creating jobs
新卒就職対策　成長戦略こそ最大の支援策だ（9月6日付・読売社説）

The economic package the government compiled recently includes measures to help new university graduates find jobs.
　政府が先に取りまとめた、「経済対策の基本方針」の一つに、新卒者の就職支援がある。

Just 91.8 percent of this spring's university graduates received tentative job offers, the lowest figure in a decade. With deflation and the stronger yen dimming economic prospects, businesses expect to hire fewer new recruits next spring, further worsening the employment situation.
　この春の大卒の就職内定率は９１・８％で、この１０年で最低だった。デフレや円高の進行など、経済情勢の不透明化で企業の来春の採用予定者数はさらに減少し、就職戦線は一段と厳しさを増している。

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been bringing up employment at every opportunity, saying, "Employment comes first, second and third [in the government's priorities]." But the public wants to see results. Regardless of who wins the upcoming Democratic Party of Japan presidential race, the government must urgently ensure stable employment for young people, especially new university graduates.
　菅首相も、「一に雇用、二に雇用、三に雇用だ」と強調しているが、求められるのは結果だ。民主党代表選の行方にかかわらず、新卒者を中心に、若者の安定した雇用の場をいかに確保するかは、緊急の課題である。

The core of the government's support policy for new university grads is to promote employment at small and midsize companies willing to recruit staff.
　政府が打ち出した新卒者支援策の柱は、採用意欲の高い中小企業への就職促進だ。

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Incentives needed

The government initially plans to increase the number of job counselors at universities and HelloWork job placement offices, and generate job offers from small and midsize firms through close coordination among these counselors. The plan also calls for raising awareness among new university graduates of the advantages of working at small and midsize companies, thereby expanding employment at such firms.
　まず、大学やハローワークの就職相談員を増員し、両者が緊密に連携することで中小企業の求人を開拓する。同時に中小企業の魅力を新卒者に発信し、就職につなげていくという。

If many fresh university graduates land jobs at small and midsize firms possessing significant growth potential, it will revitalize the nation's industries.
　多くの新卒者が、成長の可能性を秘めた中小企業で働くようになれば、産業界全体の活性化にもなるのではないか。

Another plan will provide financial incentives to businesses that take on, as trial recruits and trainees, people who fail to find jobs after graduation or repeat a year at university. Money also will be paid to companies that hire people who graduated within the past three years as part of their intake of new graduates.
　さらに、卒業後も就職先のない人や留年生を対象に、体験雇用や職場実習を受け入れた企業に奨励金を支給する。卒業後３年以内の既卒者を新卒枠で採用した企業にも、奨励金を支給する。

The employment situation remains grim. Providing these financial incentives could be necessary to encourage corporate recruitment. By the same token, it is essential to correct the situation in which people's chances for employment evaporate if a year or more passes after their graduation from university.
　深刻な就職状況下では、奨励金で採用を促す工夫も必要なのだろう。いったん卒業したら就職の窓口が極端に狭くなる現状は、改めていかなければならない。

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No time to waste

In the meantime, an increasing number of firms have been transferring their production overseas to deal with falling domestic demand caused by the stronger yen and the declining birthrate and aging population. This structural change cannot be solved fundamentally simply by increasing the number of job counselors and offering companies cash incentives.
　ただ、円高や少子高齢化による国内需要の減少を背景に、製造拠点を海外に移す企業が相次いでいる。こうした構造的変化には、就職相談員の増員や奨励金の導入では根本的な解決にならない。

The "new growth strategy," which the government decided on in June, calls for quickly ending deflation and putting the national economy on the road to full-scale recovery.
　６月に決定した政府の「新成長戦略」では、速やかにデフレを終結させ、日本経済を本格的な回復軌道に乗せる、としている。

Undoubtedly, a strategy to heighten corporate desire for recruitment is indispensable, but the government has been slow to take action to achieve this goal.
　まさに企業の採用意欲を高める戦略が欠かせないが、目標実現に向けた政府の動きは鈍い。

In the economic package compiled recently, the government called for assisting technological development by small and midsize companies, regulatory and institutional reforms and tax incentives aimed at stimulating domestic investment.
　今回の「基本方針」には、中小企業の技術開発支援や規制・制度改革、国内への投資を促す税制上の措置も掲げられた。こうした施策もスピードが肝心である。

Recent surveys have shown many university students lack professionalism and have poor communication skills. When hiring staff, however, more and more companies prize attributes such as specialized skills and expertise that could enable their employees to work globally.
　学生の職業意識の欠如やコミュニケーション能力の低下を指摘する調査結果がある。海外でも通用する人材など、専門性を重視する企業が増えてきた。

We urge the government, universities and students themselves to face up to--and adapt to--this reality.
　政府や大学、そして大学生自身も、こうした現実に目を向けた対応が求められよう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 6, 2010)
（2010年9月6日01時02分 読売新聞）