So yesterday, Japan's largest employer of unskilled foreign workers, NOVA closed all of it's doors, leaving notes to it's employees and students that the company is "restructuring" and has filed for federal protection from it's creditors.
40,000 foreigners in Japan no longer have paying jobs: to make matters worse, some of them haven't been paid in as much as 3 and a half months... quite a few are facing eviction from their NOVA-sponsored apartments on the grounds that those apartments can no longer seek back rent from NOVA (which was supposed to pay half of it in the first place). They can't contact their landlords directly because NOVA tends to keep all of this information from them, handling business themselves.
Hello Work, a job agency in Japan, has recieved 5,000+ inquiries from foreigners in one day.
Most of them do not speak Japanese.
Most of them haven't got teaching degrees.
This is a MAJOR change in the fabric of the foreign community in Japan. Suddenly as much as 1/5th of our number is "floating" (most of them centered in major urban areas).
-------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, JET is downsizing... while dispatch companies like INTERAC (who follow business models that are also widely criticized as unfair or abusive and have legal issues of their own) are moving in to place Japanese nationals and lesser-qualified people in ALT positions (while offering less support and docking a portion of their pay for themselves).
---------------------------------------------------------
What does this all mean?
What's going to happen in the future?
Will the foreign population suddenly contract radically? Will all of these people go home? Will another english company jump at the chance to expand and buy NOVA's pieces? Or will companies like INTERAC absorb the leftover employees and drive the last few nails into JET's coffin? Are people actually going to go home? Or will they start taking jobs like stripping, bartending and host/hostessing just to stay in the country? How will that affect the image of foreigners in Japan?
Whatever happens: this doesn't bode well for those of you hoping to come to Japan on work visas.
LEARN JAPANESE! GET A TEACHING CERTIFICATE! HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN!
This advice is more relevant than ever.
If you don't follow it, chances are, the door will slam in your face.
If you do follow it: there are currently several hundred thousand ex-NOVA students looking for new teachers... it's a great time to tutor or offer private lessons yourself (provided you have another job to sponsor your visa and the Japanese language skill to negotiate with your students firsthand)
^_^ you would think knowing the language and having an education would have been the first thing the first thing they did. but i don't know their situation, so i can't really say.
but why do most foreigners live in Japan when they're ignorant of almost everything that makes the country what it is? do they think getting work is easy? ^_^ i think that's silly...
but anyway, my sympathies to the people screwed and stranded in Japan, hopefully you'll find a way to work everything out!
True, going to live and work in Japan as a foreigner without the proper education pretty much screwed you over in the first place. Look at those poor Korean workers.
Last edited by Hassun; Oct 27, 2007 at 02:07 PM.
well i Think no one should go to another country look for a good job if u dont now much about the culture, and that include language too, if we go to somewhere waiting for good life and not knowing how to speak well, oh come on it wont work....it doesnt mean they all are ignorant, they just have less chances then the rest...
Learning English is a big industry in Japan and that demand will always be present. With all of the Nova students now looking for new teachers, it will create an opportunity for a "new Nova" or "new school" that offers a unique method.
This "new school" will expand rapidly and once again those ex-Nova teachers will be snapped up.
To get a work visa in Japan, you will in most cases need a Bachelor's degree. So those foreigners that taught at Nova did have a uni degree, but just didn't have the Japanese language skills nor any real work experience in anything.
The large majority of English teachers in Japan cannot speak Japanese. Knowing how to speak Japanese as a foreigner still does not make it easy to get an office or non-English teaching job in Japan. Japanese companies will only hire foreigners that hold a certain skill or leadership quality.
Posting Permissions
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks