Employers’ Recognition of Pre-employment Study Abroad Experiences of Employees from the Viewpoint of the Development of Global Human Resources (A Case of Japanese Multinational Firms)

Abstract

The development of Global Human Resources (GHRs) has been an all-Japan agenda for more than a decade. Through an industry-academia partnership led by the government, universities have been at the forefront of the efforts to cultivate GHRs that meet the industry’s needs. The promotion of study abroad among Japanese youths has been an essential part of this effort. However, assessment of whether study abroad experiences (SAE) contribute to the development of GHR attributes is scarce. This paper aims to assess whether firms recognize employees’ SAE prior to employment as contributing to the development of GHR attributes. Through a questionnaire survey of 300 multinational firms in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, it was found that a large percentage of the respondents recognize employees with SAE as having strengths in all three pillars of GHR attributes; language and communication ability, cross-cultural understanding and ethnic identity, and fundamental competencies of working persons. The results also indicate that firms recognize these strengths in employees with both short-term and long-term study abroad experiences. These are welcome findings that validate the government and universities’ efforts to increase study abroad among Japanese youths.