Outline of the Specified Skilled Worker Program
This page explains the background to the establishment of the specified skilled worker program, its purpose, the specified skills jobs available in the construction industry, the program itself, as well as the support services that must be provided by the hiring companies.
- Establishment of the Specified Skilled Worker Program and Job Types
- What is the construction industryʼs specified skilled worker program?
- How to become a specified skilled worker
- Procedures undertaken by the hiring company
- Changing status of residence from Technical Intern Training, etc. to Specified Skilled Worker (i) Change of status of residence
Establishment of the Specified Skilled Worker Program and Job Types
On December 14, 2018, the Act for Partial Amendment of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Justice (Act No. 102 of 2018) was promulgated. As a result, a new status of residence, "specified skilled worker", was introduced. Consequently, non-Japanese workers are now allowed to work in 14 occupational fields which the government has acknowledged to be experiencing serious labor shortages.
One of these 14 is the construction industry, an industry that has been suffering from an increasingly acute shortage of labor. The number of workers in the construction industry peaked at 6.85 million in 1997 and declined to 5.05 million in November 2020. Despite efforts to improve productivity and to secure domestic human resources, the construction industry has been struggling to find workers. A program has been established in the industry to hire non-Japanese workers with a certain level of expertise and skills who can be effective immediately.
All work related to the construction industry, including occupations subject to technical intern training, have been reorganized into 3major specific on-site job categories,
such as: Civil Engineering, Building, and Infrastructure & Equipment.
Due to the revised new system, it has enabled Specified Skilled Workers to take up a wider range of jobs and work in a more flexible way. (August 30, 2022)
[ Important ] Amendment of Job Categories in relation to Specified Skilled Workers in the Construction Industry
Types of specified skilled worker jobs (18 jobs)
Formwork construction | Plastering | Concrete pumping | Tunnel and micro-tunneling* | Construction machinery and construction |
Earthwork* | Roofing | Telecommunications* | Reinforcement construction | Reinforcing bar joints* | Interior finishing | Scaffolding | Carpentry | Plumbing | Building sheet metal work | Heat-retention and cool-retention |
Spray urethane insulation* | Offshore civil engineering* |
*For the six jobs marked with an asterisk (*), since there are no such jobs under the technical intern training program, workers must take and pass the Specified Skilled Worker (i) Evaluation Exam for the Construction Industry
What is the construction industry's specified skilled worker program?
The construction industry experiences more technical intern trainee disappearances than any other industry, and trainees who have disappeared are often found working illegally at other construction sites. Companies are also concerned that the hiring of foreigners as cheap labor by rival companies may distort the fair competition environment between construction companies, and the industry needs to develop firm rules on wages, social insurance, and health and safety, and to exclude companies that do not follow those rules.
To address such issues, companies hiring specified skilled workers in the construction industry are now required to prepare a plan for hiring workers and to have it approved by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) before workers acquire a status of residence from the Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Once a plan has been approved, companies must undergo checks by the MLIT or the appropriate labor management organization regarding the implementation of the plan.
Unlike in the past, when a worker was not allowed to remain in Japan after completing Technical Intern Training (ii), etc., following the introduction of this program, workers are now allowed to continue to work for a company as part of the work force for a total of five years.
Companies are also now able to bring back non-Japanese workers, who have returned to their home country after completing technical intern training, and hire them directly.
How to become a specified skilled worker
There are two routes to becoming a specified skilled worker.
*1 "Successfully completed Technical Intern Training (ii)" means completing at least 2 years and 10 months of technical intern training and meeting one of the following requirements
1. Passed the Trade Skills Test Level 3 or the practical test of the Technical Intern Training Evaluation Exam (Professional Level)
2. Have not passed Trade Skills Test Level 3 or the practical test of the Technical Intern Training Evaluation Exam (Professional Level), but are recognized as having "successfully completed" Technical Intern Training (ii) based on an evaluation report prepared by the implementing organization, which details attendance, acquisition of skills, etc., and attitude during training
Procedures undertaken by the hiring company
Companies must undertake various procedures in order to hire specified skilled workers in the construction industry.
The main procedures to be undertaken are listed below.
- Directly or indirectly join JAC
>>> Obtain proof of membership
Obtain a license as provided for in Article 3 of the Construction Business Act
(from regional development bureaus, etc. or each prefecture)
- Register with the Construction Career Up System
(Fund for Construction Industry Promotion)
Industry Promotion website(Japanese)
Explanation of important matters concerning employment contracts for specified skilled workers
Conclude an Employment Contract for Specified Skilled Workers
- Apply for application for approval of the construction industry specified skilled workers hiring plan
*Apply online (Regional Development Bureau, etc.)
Employment Management
System website (Japanese)
Prepare a support plan for specified skilled worker (i)
- Application for Change of Status of Residence or Application for Certificate of Eligibility
*Apply in person or online (Regional Immigration Services Bureau)
Agency of Japan
Application for Change
of Status of Residence form Immigration Services
Agency of Japan
Application for Certificate
of Eligibility form
- Submit Specified Skilled Workers (i) Hiring Report
*Submit online (Regional Development Bureau, etc.)
Employment Management
System website (Japanese)
- Participate in post-hiring training
(Foundation for International Transfer of Skills and Knowledge in Construction (FITS))
Changing status of residence from Technical Intern Training, etc. to Specified Skilled Worker (i) Change of status of residence
Benefits of switching from technical intern training
- No need to take the skills evaluation exam or Japanese language test
- Non-Japanese workers who have successfully completed Technical Intern Training (ii) and wish to transfer to specified skilled worker (i) receive exemption from the skills evaluation exam and Japanese language test. Note that exemption is limited to transfers within the same job type.
- Minimize initial costs
- For example, if an intern trainee from Vietnam switches to being a specified skilled worker while they are in Japan, there is no need to pay to bring them to Japan, thereby reducing the initial cost outlay.
- If it takes time to change your status of residence,
you can change your status of residence to "Designated Activities (4 months, work permitted)" - "If you are unable to prepare the necessary documents to apply by the date of expiration of your period of stay, for example, or if you need more time to complete the procedures to change your status of residence, you can apply to change your status of residence to "Designated Activities" to give you time to prepare documentation while working at the company at which you plan to work.
*The period of stay under this status of residence is included in the total period of stay (maximum 5 years) for the under the "Specified Skilled Worker (i)" status of residence.
More information can be found on the Immigration Services Agency of Japan website."