高校生こうこうせいの採用さいよう試験しけん きょうから始はじまる ことしも売手うりて市場しじょう【QAも】

The nationwide recruitment exams for high school students hoping to find employment next spring began on the 16th.

This year as well, due to factors such as a labor shortage, it is a sellers market where students can easily find jobs.

Of these, a recycling machinery manufacturer in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, with about 70 employees, also held recruitment exams, and a local male high school student attended an interview.

The high school student looked nervous, but emphasized that they were learning welding at school and had been actively participating in club activities.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, as of the end of July this year, the number of high school students nationwide who hope to find employment next spring is 126,474, while the number of job openings from companies is 466,921, resulting in a job-offers-to-applicants ratio of 3.

It has increased 69 times.

This is almost the same level as last year, and it continues to be a sellers market, with the number of job openings from companies greatly exceeding the number of high school students seeking employment.

In particular, the number of job openings in the manufacturing industry is over 146,000, accounting for more than 30% of the total. In recent years, job openings at large companies have also increased, making it increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to secure personnel.

At a machinery manufacturer in Kawaguchi City that held a recruitment exam on the 16th, they have been putting effort into securing talent by newly appointing a person in charge of hiring high school graduates from this year. However, so far, there has only been one applicant for four available positions.

Recruiter Reimi Fujita from Nihon Seam said, We want to continue sharing information using the internet as well, so that more students can learn about the appeal of our company.

[QA] What is the One Student, One Company System in high school job hunting? High school job hunting follows different rules and schedules from university students, such as the One Student, One Company System.

The aim is to secure employment as quickly as possible and minimize the impact on studies, but as the job market continues to favor job seekers, there are increasing calls for a review of this approach.

Labor reporter Keita Ohno will report through interviews with countries and experts.

Q

What kind of schedule will it proceed on?

First, on July 1st, job postings from companies will arrive at each school.

After reading this job posting, students choose the company they want by, for example, visiting workplaces during summer vacation.

And in Okinawa Prefecture, application forms can be submitted to companies from August 30, while in other prefectures, they can be submitted from September 5. The recruitment exams will begin on September 16.

Q

What are the unique job-hunting rules for high school students? A

The especially significant rule is the one called the one person, one company system.

This is an agreement among prefectures, schools, and industries that, in principle, limits each student to applying to only one company during a certain period. As of June 2025, this is being implemented in 41 prefectures.

On the other hand, the only prefectures where you can apply to multiple companies from the start are Akita, Ibaraki, Saitama, Osaka, Wakayama, and Okinawa.

The aim of this one-student-per-company system is said to be to minimize competition as much as possible, making it easier for students to receive job offers in a short period of time, and to reduce their burden and the impact on their studies.

For example, if you apply to multiple companies, it may take time to research each company and prepare the application forms. However, even if there are only a few job openings, it is said that relatively fair opportunities to apply are provided to many students.

On the other hand, there are also criticisms that the current rules either excessively restrict the independence of high school students, or make it difficult for companies that want to start hiring high school students to enter the market.

Recently, as job offers from companies have increased and it has become a seller’s market, there is a growing trend even in regions that use the “one person, one company” system to shorten the duration of this system.

Currently, most places set the period of one person, one company until the end of September, and even the longest ones set it until the end of October.

I want high school students to carefully consider and choose a company that suits them when looking for a job. Speaking of matching, there is one concerning piece of data.

Of those who graduated from high school and found employment in March 2023 Reiwa 5, 17% left their jobs within one year.

It is 5 points higher.

There are also concerns that high school students are experiencing job mismatches because they are getting jobs without having enough information about the companies.

In response to these opinions, discussions have begun on expanding the range of employment options available to high school students.

In the recommendations from the governments Regulatory Reform Promotion Council in May this year, it was requested to consider measures such as bringing forward the timing for the release of job postings by, for example, one to two months, and making job information for high school graduates widely available to the public on the web.

Now is the time, while the sellers market continues, for each region to develop systems that allow high school students to learn about more companies and thoroughly consider which workplaces suit them best.