What is the Foreign Technical Intern Training Program?

Foreigners who come to Japan to learn techniques and skills at Japanese companies are called foreign technical intern trainees.
The system for accepting foreign technical intern trainees is the Foreign Technical Intern Training System.

Through direct employment by a company, trainees will acquire, master, and develop practical skills.

The purpose of the Japanese government's Technical Intern Training Program for Foreign Trainees is to impart skills and knowledge to trainees from emerging countries and contribute to the economic development of those countries.
This system is operated as part of Japan's important role in international cooperation and human resource development.

Foreign technical intern trainees must be provided at least the minimum wage set by each prefecture (specific minimum wages apply to certain occupations) and at a salary equal to or higher than that of Japanese workers.

Foreign technical intern trainees are also required to enroll in social insurance and employee pension insurance.

There are three residence statuses under the Technical Intern Training Program: Technical Intern Training No. 1, Technical Intern Training No. 2, and Technical Intern Training No. 3. The period of stay is one year for No. 1, two years for No. 2, and two years for No. 3.

Technical training begins with Type 1, and after passing an exam, they progress to Type 2 and then Type 3.
In the first year, activities are undertaken to acquire skills, in the second and third years activities to develop proficiency, and in the fourth and fifth years activities to develop mastery.

Type 3 can only be accepted if both the training provider and the supervising organization are certified as excellent.
The Human Relations Cooperative is certified as a superior supervision organization.

If a training company that has a track record of accepting trainees for more than three years and is recognized as having the ability to help trainees acquire skills that meet certain conditions is certified as an excellent company, it will be able to employ the trainees for up to five years.

Accepting companies cannot freely set the number of technical intern trainees they accept.
A "maximum number of people" is determined based on the total number of full-time employees at the accepting company.
However, excellent training providers and excellent supervising organizations can increase the number of people they accept.

The Human Relations Cooperative is certified as a superior supervision organization.
Therefore, training companies that are certified as excellent can accept more than twice the number of foreign technical intern trainees as the "maximum number of people".

When a slot becomes available for Technical Intern Training No. 1, the company will be able to accept new foreign technical intern training No. 1 from the following year onwards.

When foreign technical intern trainees accepted in the first year move into their second year of stay, the name of their residence status will change to Technical Intern Training No. 2.
Only reputable supervising organizations and training providers will be accepted for the first and second generations in the fourth and fifth years.