High School Graduate White-Collar Hiring is Heating Up!

Hello. I am Komase, representative of Marcelo LLC. I provide business and marketing consulting, brainstorming, and monthly advisory services to business owners and project managers.

Today, I participated in a seminar hosted by Sales Marker.

I participated with zero prior knowledge about the guest, Jinjib Co., Ltd. but I was deeply impacted.

The company's main business is Job Draft, a job placement support service for high school students.

CFO Nitta's message, 'When we talk about hiring high school graduates, it is still mainly blue-collar, but we want to increase white-collar hiring,' really struck a chord with me.

Yes, my brain went into overdrive, reacting to a theme I had never considered before: 'In the first place, why is a university degree even necessary?'

Below, I will record the thoughts that crossed my mind while they are still fresh.

1. Changes in the Era

• Hiring difficulties due to population decline. In the ultimate seller's market, the job opening-to-applicant ratio for university graduates is 9x. You cannot acquire them without offering a starting salary of 300,000 yen. For small and medium-sized enterprises, the difficulty level is at its maximum.

• The collapse of the myth that 'if you join a large company, you win. Your life is guaranteed until retirement, you get a large retirement bonus, and your old age is secure' -> The logic of entering a top-tier university to join a large company has also collapsed.

• 55% of university students start their careers carrying the debt of student loans. The average loan amount is 3 million yen.

• The educational expenses from 4th grade of elementary school to graduation from a private university in the Tokyo metropolitan area are over 20 million yen for science majors and over 17 million yen for humanities majors. This is the total of cram school fees, private middle and high school tuition, and private university tuition. (Excluding the free private high school tuition program in Tokyo) -> Due to the impact of rising prices, the burden on household budgets is increasing.

• The value of knowledge has relatively declined due to the spread of AI. Skills such as task setting, problem-solving, flexibility, adaptability, and humanity are in demand -> The disappearance of the superiority of university students selected through rote learning.

2. Benefits of Hiring High School Graduates for Companies

• Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises struggling with hiring university graduates, instead of hiring lower-tier university graduates, they can hire top-tier high school graduates and train them through in-house education. As a result, they can become productive assets earlier.

• The high school graduate hiring market is not as fiercely competitive, so you can enjoy the first-mover advantage.

• The average age decreases, and average wages can be kept low. On the other hand, for excellent high school graduates, you can implement measures to prevent turnover by paying them salaries comparable to university graduates (increasing your options).

3. Benefits for Job Seekers (High School Students)

• By entering society early, they can acquire the professional skills necessary for the AI era.

• The current situation is a bonus time, and they can receive generous education from companies.

• Avoiding a start burdened by debt → It is far less economically risky to study at a university for working adults after turning 30.

4. Benefits for the Job Seeker's Parents

• Not only are university costs eliminated, but the need for middle school entrance exams and cram school fees is also removed, significantly reducing the financial burden.

• Time and money can be invested in polishing the initiative, leadership, flexibility of thought, and human skills required in the AI era.

• Quality of life is improved by increasing the time and experiences shared with children.

From these various perspectives, I feel that the conditions to accelerate "white-collar high school graduate hiring" are in place.

The biggest barrier is breaking the stereotype that "you cannot succeed unless you go to university."

Regarding this, I believe steady awareness-raising activities are necessary.

1. Messaging from high school graduate success stories in the business world

• Functioning as persuasive evidence that "you can succeed even as a high school graduate."

• Examples include Akio Nitori (founder of Nitori Holdings), Hideo Sawada (founder of H.I.S.), Kentaro Ohyama (founder of Iris Ohyama), Yasushi Akimoto (lyricist and music producer), and Yoshihito Kamogashira (entrepreneur and speaker).

2. Media exposure for the CEO and executives of JINJIB Inc.

• Appearing frequently in interviews, panel discussions, and other media to build momentum for high school graduate hiring.

• Implementing strategic PR utilizing press releases and research releases.

3. Advertising campaigns centered on the business video media PIVOT

• Leveraging PIVOT's reach and influence to convey the importance of high school graduate hiring in the context of the current era. Objectivity is ensured by having MCs like Mr. Sasaki and Mr. Nojima deliver the message.

• Executing PIVOT's optional menu, including taxi advertisements and elevator advertisements, to conduct awareness-raising activities for management executives.

4. Deploying emotional video advertisements aimed at high school students and their parents

・Distributing emotional video ads through TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, etc., to trigger an "OS update."

5. Partnering with alternative schools that promote the strengthening of human skills

• Sending out the message that "there are more important things than university entrance exams" in partnership with alternative schools. Examples: FC Imabari High School, Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Karuizawa Kazakoshi Gakuen, etc.

Using Ryo Taoka's "Category Strategy Practiced Only by Rapidly Growing Companies" as a textbook, we will create the category of "White-Collar High School Graduate Recruitment," and Jinjib Inc. will enjoy the benefits as the category leader.

I felt that this project would be a good fit for such a story.

Just a quick note for now, also serving as a memorandum. It is still quite rough, so I would like to take some more time to think about it.

■Joining "Jinjib" as Deputy General Manager of the Career Education Development Department (Job Change Journal)

<Postscript (9/13)>

As of yesterday (9/12), when searching for "high school graduate white-collar recruitment," this article surprisingly appeared in 2nd place (excluding ads). First, it seems necessary to build momentum with the goal of having my article no longer appear on the first page.

Thank you for always reading. Your support is encouraging. I hope to continue expanding my interactions with all of you.

Thank you for always reading. Your support is encouraging. I hope to continue expanding my interactions with all of you.

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