FORMATION OF THE RECRUITMENT SYSTEM IN THE SILK-REELING INDUSTRY

Abstract

Gunze Silk Mfg. Co., Ltd. was established in Kyoto prefecture in 1896 and produced high-quality silk. The products were reeled in a factory by young female workers from rural areas who had appropriate skills and experience. After World War I, an expansion in the business caused a shortage of workers at the factory. In response, the management innovated a system for the employment of rural girls.
This paper studies the formation of the recruitment system and analyzes how it was implemented by Gunze between 1925 and 1930. The management strategy was to select their employees carefully. First, they refused applications from girls under age in spite of the labor shortage. Only girls aged fifteen and over could get a job and enter the training program. Moreover, they included testing of the candidate's aptitude in the employment examination. Thanks to this, the training period was reduced from six to four months, and the number of trained workers increased.
They also considered recruiting highly skilled workers from other factories and areas. This, however, would require reeducation of the workers, and they therefore did not develop this method of employment.
In conclusion, the original recruitment system was a precondition for the systematization of the personnel training within industry, which made a contribution to the strict quality control.