Developing and Training Human Resources
Basic policy
The basic philosophy for human resource development at the AMADA Group is to cultivate talent who pursue creative and challenging activities. In order to practice our Management Philosophy of “Growing Together with Our Customers” and contributing to the international community through our business, it is essential that we have the ability to flexibly respond to changes in the external environment and take on the challenge of creating value, as well as the ability to think and act to resolve problems. We also believe that in order to achieve further growth, it is important for diverse human resources to grow and play an active role on their own.
Based on this approach and our human resource development policy of developing the capabilities of diverse human resources and supporting autonomous career development, we provide growth opportunities and education and training based on employees’ career aspirations and career stages. We have identified business leaders, technical human resources in advanced and specialized fields, and global human resources as key issues for human resource development, and are working to strengthen their development to achieve our ideal state.
Targets and achievements
| Indicator | Fiscal 2023 results | Fiscal 2025 target | Fiscal 2030 target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education and training hours per employee | 47.7 hours (Group companies in Japan) | 40 hours (Group companies in Japan*) | 45 hours (Group companies in Japan*) |
Initiatives
We provide various educational and training opportunities for diverse human resources to grow and play an active role on their own, including training by job title and education by job type and career path tailored to the growth of employees.
- Education and training system
Cultivating business leaders
In addition to training for managers, we also provide phased and ongoing education for the next generation of young and mid-career employees to support them in exercising leadership going forward. In addition, we encourage employees’ development and autonomous career building through multifaceted efforts such as our selective leader training program and early provision of management experiences.
Training by job title
New employee training is designed to provide new employees with the fundamentals essential to their work, including product and technical knowledge and business skills, over the first six months of employment. Thereafter, we continue to provide education and training by job title, such as young employee training and mid-career employee training, to help them acquire the necessary skills according to their stage of growth and to encourage them to develop their own careers.
Manager training
We have established an environment that enables newly appointed managers to make sound progress as managers through a training system that starts with the acquisition of knowledge and regulations commonly required of AMADA Group managers, and then establishes and facilitates the abilities and roles required for each position.
ENGINE Program for fostering the next generation of human resources
The ENGINE Program is a series of systematic training measures to develop the skills of young employees in their first 10 years of employment, designed to foster the next generation of human resources. In the first three years on the job, we use a range of programs to encourage young employees to develop their skills, support their growth, and maintain their motivation. This includes a system in which a senior employee serves as an older brother or sister to support their development, periodic career interviews, and off-the-job training by job title and type.
Female leader training program
Our selective female leader training program targets female employees who are expected to become successful leaders in the future. We combine group training to hone management and communication skills with on-site practical leadership training to provide continuous development over a period of approximately one year. We have also established a training follow-up system by providing training for trainee supervisors.
Cultivating technical human resources
In Medium-term Business Plan 2025, we aim to resolve the issues of our customers and society with new technologies. Enhancing the technical knowledge and engineering capabilities of the people who drive this effort is a key challenge for the Group. With a focus on harnessing the AMADA Technical Education Center (ATEC), newly opened in August 2024, we will strengthen the development of various technical human resources and work to create an AMADA Group where all employees are engineers.
Sales engineer education
As products and processing become more complex and sophisticated to meet diversifying customer needs, it is essential to strengthen engineering capabilities during sales. Sales engineers need to develop the ability to identify latent issues faced by customers and propose optimal solutions for entire plants from an engineering perspective. Therefore, we have developed and sequentially introduced a training curriculum that provides the necessary knowledge and skills in a phased and comprehensive manner.
Service engineer education
Service engineers are required to provide prompt and accurate after-sales services. Since this requires diverse product knowledge and advanced skills, we have established an education system to steadily improve skills beginning immediately after joining the Group through practical programs. In conjunction, in order to establish a system that can provide a high standard of education in a stable manner, we are improving the skills of our trainers and unifying our training methods.
Development engineer education
Development engineers must deepen their expertise and maintain broad knowledge beyond the area of development. To this end, we have established a skills map that serves as a guideline for development and corresponding qualifications and training programs to provide an environment in which each employee can independently develop their skills. We also have a system in place to develop the next generation of human resources, including a system that allows employees to propose new development themes and a forum for young engineers to present the results of their R&D efforts.
Establishment of the ATEC
In September 2024, we will open the new ATEC within the Isehara Head Office. Under the concept of “a place to educate the next generation of engineers capable of envisioning the future of customer factories,” this facility will feature all systems machines, from old to new, to enhance engineer training using actual equipment. This comprehensive training facility is also equipped with an area for learning manufacturing digital transformation (DX) as well as a simulator room for learning basic technologies such as numerical control (NC) and pneumatic pressure. The facility is also capable of connecting with overseas regions.
Cultivating global human resources
To realize expansion in global markets, one of the growth strategies in our Medium-term Business Plan 2025, an important issue is the development and assignment of human resources who can succeed worldwide. To this end, we have established a global human resource registration system to provide a range of educational and training opportunities to employees who wish to be posted overseas or engage in overseas-related work.
Overseas business study program
This is a short-term practical training program in which young employees are sent to overseas subsidiaries for one year in anticipation of future assignments. It is held every year as an opportunity for young employees to experience global business at an early stage. Through practical work in local markets, participants learn about the business activities, market trends, and customer service of local subsidiaries.
Feedback from an overseas business study program participant
- AMADA production management employee (age: 20s, male),
dispatched to AMADA AMERICA, INC. - I decided to tackle overseas training because I wanted to learn about how different places look at factory operations and approach things differently compared to Japan. I also wanted to develop skills to handle coordination and collaboration between the Japanese head office and local subsidiaries in manufacturing in the future. In the United States, I am learning about the flow of people, goods, and money throughout the plant, and daily training sessions are geared toward acquiring the ability to identify issues and formulate countermeasures to achieve manufacturing profit targets.
Language learning support
Communication in foreign languages is necessary to operate smoothly in the global marketplace. To this end, we have established a language learning support program to help employees acquire the wide range of foreign languages required for overseas operations, and we are continuously developing human resources to support the global growth of the AMADA Group.