Labor Practices

Training and Education (Human Resource Development)

KPI Responsible Departments Stance and Target Review of FY 2020 Activities Issues and Future Improvement Measures

KPI

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Item FY 2019 results FY 2020 results
Total number of training participants per year (Non-consolidated) Regardless of gender,
1,427 total participants (managerial positions)
380 participants (technical positions)		 (Non-consolidated) Regardless of gender,
887 total participants (managerial positions)
82 participants (technical positions)

Responsible Departments

Global HR Department

Stance and Target

Why is “Human Resource Development through Training and Education” a critical issue to be addressed?
Explanation of the reason and background

Based on the idea that having each individual employee work to achieve personal growth by making effective use of opportunities for self-cultivation will in turn lead to our company’s growth, we are providing the comprehensive support needed to realize this goal. We recognize that the assignment of professional human resources that have a strong desire to achieve and a broad range of perspectives, and who are capable of performing to their fullest while having an influence around them, is required at our business locations, which are expanding on a global scale. As an important means of achieving this objective, we are promoting measures such as the development of effective education and training systems.
We will also work on new measures to develop the next generation of managers who can respond quickly to the changing times.

Vision (attainment goal) / target

In the midst of global business development, we will aim to develop the mindset, capabilities, and skills necessary to make qualified judgments and implement them, as well as individual skills that include leadership for each management level, the ability to solve problems while working closely with the field, presentation skills, and negotiation skills, while implementing genba, genbutsu, and genjitsu principle-based education in which employees learn from sensation and experience.

Measures for vision achievement

The following measures will be implemented to achieve our vision.

New human resources system GLOBAL (development of core human resources)

Our Human Resources System, which was adopted in 2010, is focused on personnel training to cultivate employees who are able to perform on a global stage. For example, we have set up eight hierarchies from new entry level to divisional General Manager; each threshold must be cleared in order to go up to the next level. The threshold comprises performance evaluation, compulsory training, and language skills; in this way, relevant personnel can acquire necessary skills as a candidate so he/she can perform on the global stage by clearing each threshold one-by-one.
In 2020, we also introduced a professional job system for administrative employees at higher levels. Together with management positions, the compensation system for higher ranks will be more closely linked to work (job), evaluation (performance), and compensation.

Use of re-employment employees aged 60 or above

Yokohama Business Association Corporation (YBAC), which was established in July 2013 as a staffing company specializing in re-employed workers, has been actively involved in the activities of re-employed workers. Currently, the system allows employees to work until a maximum age of 70, and approximately 200 employees are active beyond the age of 65.
In order to further promote the use of rehired employees, from 2021, we have started a system that allows employees to continue to work as managers even after retiring at the age of 60.

Personnel Training Program

  1. Fresh Graduates
    1. Training program for Fresh Graduates
      We provide all new career-track employees with on-site training, mainly by working shifts at the production plant and accompanying sales staff at the sales site. By actually experiencing the actual site of manufacturing, we create the necessary awareness as an employee of a manufacturer.
    2. Brother System
      This system has been around for as long as 25 years already; initially it started as a system to give one-on-one training by senior employees to nurture young engineers; now it has also been extended to cover all new graduate hires in administrative positions (main career track).
  2. Training for career-track employees
    Based on the "Expected Image of Human Resources for Each Job Level" set in the personnel system, we have established training programs for each job level to learn the basic knowledge to work at Yokohama Rubber and the technical knowledge about our products. In addition, we provide training to support the mindset, capabilities, and skill development necessary for career-track employees, and some of these training programs have been designated as mandatory and are required for promotion.
  3. Advanced Specialists
    We are certifying those of our personnel who have made a significant contribution and those whose skills are needed to strengthen our business as “Advanced Specialists” with a top level of specialization in a specific technology area, so that they can focus their activities on technology. In addition, from fiscal 2015, the “CIA Program” was launched as a framework for young employees who will become specialists in the future to help them to devote themselves to research as a form of R&D certification. In addition, in 2020, we introduced a system that allows us to certify as "highly specialized" clerical employees at higher levels who can demonstrate performance based on their high level of expertise.
  4. Technical Meister System
    We are certifying as “Technical Meisters” those of our personnel in technical fields who are able to train juniors by utilizing their specialized skills and knowledge, in order to pass on our technology to the new generation.
  5. Education for Company Expatriates and their Family Members
    Amid the global expansion of our businesses, the number of company personnel assigned to work overseas is rising every year. Since fiscal 2009, we have provided overseas pre-relocation seminars for all employees going overseas. The seminars consist of information on how to proceed with work operations in different cultures, any necessary formalities, safety lectures specific to the destination region (necessary knowledge regarding the state of public order and ensuring safety), medical training, legal and compliance training, accounting and internal controls training, language training, and information on schooling for dependent family members.
  6. Incentive to Obtain Official Certifications
    We have an incentive system to encourage our employees to obtain official certifications which are advanced levels which may not be easy to obtain, but which are essential for our company growth; the company is thereby trying to encourage our personnel to obtain as many of these certifications as possible.
  7. Qualified Employee Allowance
    As a company, an allowance is provided to employees registered as qualified employees who maintain the official qualifications required for plant operations.
  8. Foreign Language Subsidy
    To encourage improvements in foreign language abilities, a foreign language subsidy has been provided to those employees who have achieved at least advanced level and above in a language other than their native tongue.
  9. Feedback for development
    In order to continuously develop employees' abilities and to make evaluations more transparent and convincing, we have set clear expectation levels for each role, and have established a system in which supervisors and subordinates can check whether employees are meeting the expectation levels and what points need to be improved during the semi-annual evaluation feedback, thereby supporting development.

Review of FY 2020 Activities

The following results were achieved for the measures implemented in fiscal 2020.

Use of re-employment employees aged 60 or above

As of the end of December 2020, there were 471 re-employment employees enrolled, including both partner employees directly employed by Yokohama Rubber and Yokohama Business Association Corporation (YBAC) employees. In fiscal 2020, 96% of employees reaching retirement age continued working using the re-employment system. Efforts will be made to develop successors and pass on skills while utilizing the experience and advanced skills of these employees.

Personnel Training Program

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(Unit: persons)
Name of training program Number of participants
Men Women Total
New employee training 42 12 54
New employee follow-up training 26 11 37
Newly appointed key position training - - -
Newly appointed organization management position training - - -
Evaluator training 21 0 21
Training prior to re-employment 23 0 23
  • Newly appointed key position training and newly appointed organizational management position training were not conducted in 2020.

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Education and training expenses 143 million yen
Total number of training participants per year (managerial positions) 887 employees
  • Regardless of gender, the total number of training participants per year for technical workers was 82

<System users and number of applicable employees for each program>

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  • As of December 2020
1 New employees Brother System 54 employees
2 Advanced Specialists and Skills Meister System Advanced Specialists 37 employees
Skills Meister System 41 employees
3 Education for Company Expatriates and their Family Members 22 employees
4 Incentive to Obtain Official Certifications 12 employees
5 Qualified Employee Allowance 131 employees (Actual salary in December 2020)
6 Foreign Language Subsidy 377 employees (Actual salary in December 2020)

<Number of employees that obtained official certifications>

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(Unit: persons)
Certification Number of Achievement Cases
FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020
Radiation Protection Supervisor 1 - 1 1 -
Certified Measurer - 1 1 2 -
Special Boiler Expert - 4 - 1 1
Qualified Energy Manager 1 2 2 - 2
Class-1 Health Supervisor 10 6 2 2 1
Industrial Hygiene Health Officer 1 - 1 - -
High Pressure Gas Production Safety Manager 1 2 - - 4
Class-1 Boiler Expert 2 - 2 2 1
Operations chief of radiography with X-rays 2 1 - 2 2
Class-3 Electrical Chief Engineer 1 - - 2 1
Manager in Charge of Pollution Control 1 2 1 - -

Issues and Future
Improvement Measures

In employee cultivation at Group companies in Japan and overseas, we will continually improve development structures for cultivating the mindset, capabilities, and skills needed to support the implementation of our business activities, developing programs for the development of young employees and also for creating high-performance human resources.