Efficient Training and Management of Specified Skilled Workers

Release Date :August 23, 2024.

• Employee training

Release Date :August 23, 2024.

ONODERA USER RUN Co., Ltd. (hereinafter OUR) provides a full range of services including education for Specified Skilled Workers and post-employment support. In addition to operating five of its own free education centers (OUR Academies) in four Asian countries including the Philippines and Myanmar, the company also provides ongoing language support and daily life after employment begins. The company implemented learningBOX in 2021 and has been using it to prepare for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and other tests related to residence qualifications, Category 1 Specified Technical Skills and Category 2 Specified Technical Skills. In this article, OUR mentions the background and the effects after the implementation and future prospects.

Low Cost, High Flexibility and Easy-to-Use

First of all, could you tell us about your business?

Mr. Uchiyama: Our business mainly focuses on education and recruiting for international human resources. We operate free education centers (OUR Academy) in the Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and Laos to provide support for language and basic technical skills. We train Specified Skilled Workers who can play an active role in fields such as nursing care, food service, and accommodation.

Also, we provide total support for visa application procedures from the time of job offer to the time of joining the company, as well as housing and education to help them get used to work and life in Japan.

As for my responsibilities, I am in charge of the Education Promotion Department, which provides learning support for those who wish to work in Japan for years. Currently, I am working on creating content to prepare for the exam for Category 2 Specified Technical Skills.

While a total period of stay for the Category 1 Specified Technical Skills is limited to five years, the Category 2 Specified Technical Skills is expanded to 11 fields in 2023, which allows applicants to stay in Japan as long as they renew the program. Following the expansion, our main focus is now aiming to acquire the Category 2 Specified Technical Skills.

What were your challenges before implementing learningBOX?

Mr. Uchiyama: Prior to the implementation of learningBOX, we had been providing learning opportunities by introducing learning content via Google Forms and Facebook, but it was time-consuming to share information and tally the results. This is the reason why we started to look for a low-cost, effective internet-based system other than an application.

Mr. Asaga: While we had been using our tools when providing services overseas, there were no tools that could be utilized after workers came to Japan. We needed a new platform and started to scrutinize all the services that came up by entering keywords in the search window, from top to bottom.

Although tens of e-learning services were listed, they seemed expensive in that initial investment in dedicated servers and other equipment were required when applied.

In addition, the UI and data security which many of the free services offer did not meet our needs, and there were difficulties finding the right fit for us.

In terms of pricing, learningBOX looked very attractive. It is also a cloud-based system, and there is no need to invest in equipment. Saving up the initial cost was one of our challenges but learningBOX looked perfect.

What was the most decisive factor in the implementation of learningBOX?

Mr. Asaga: As I mentioned, the pricing was one thing, but the flexibility was another because we wanted to create and customize our content by ourselves. Some systems offer ready-made content or are formatted, but they were not what we were looking for. Our main focus is on content that users learn on their own, rather than educating them. learningBOX made it possible for us to manage content easily and respond to user requests.

PDFs and videos can be easily uploaded and delivered as content. We add them to a folder according to each qualification, then build a course. Prerequisites can restrict learners to go on to the next content, and these functionalities contribute to controlling the appropriate learning steps. We emphasize course building on learningBOX is easy.

We do not have specialized IT knowledge, but this user-friendly platform is perfect for us.

Eight Hours Grading Process Was Drastically Reduced

What were some of the challenges you faced in implementing the system?

Mr. Asaga: At first, it took a while to get used to finding the right functionality for us on the admin page. I participated in several webinars which learnigBOX hosted on an irregular basis, but even after the webinar, I sometimes asked some help from my colleague.

The more we learn and get used to the system, the better we can customize the system, I feel.

Also, since users were learning on their smartphones, the interface looked different from what we viewed on a computer due to the size. Previously, we explained how to use the system mainly on a PC, but now, we added an explanation on a smartphone as well.

Thank you very much. We are planning to publish more detailed category-specific videos. We hope they will help. Please feel free to contact us anytime if you have any questions.
　
Now, can you tell us about the functions you use the most and how often you update them?

Mr. Uchiyama: We mainly create quizzes but PDFs and videos are also often added to content. Recently, we have been working on a Report assignment to keep record of a caregiving. Also, Memorization card seems great to use to study Japanese language.

Talking about the updates, frequent content updates are essential to prepare for the exam especially in the field of nursing care because systems and other factors are often changed. learningBOX helps us in that immediate updates can be shared whenever the changes are required.

What are the effects after the introduction of the system?

Mr. Uchiyama: I feel that learningBOX allows me to work very efficiently. While teaching Japanese language, we conduct mock tests. The scoreboard is very helpful to analyze the test results based on the correct or incorrect answer data of each question. According to the analysis, we can find out the lowest correct answer rate and give learners feedback about the questions.

I used to use a calculator after grading tests. Thanks to the implementation of learningBOX, we can save a lot of time. When I taught Japanese in Vietnam, tests were all paper-based, and it took about two hours for one class of 30 students to grade them. In addition, another one hour was taken to get an average score from the results. I remember that it took eight hours a day for grading for all classes.

Talking about management, CSV export is also a big help to extract grade data on learningBOX. For instance, we can see at a glance how many learners took the course and what their grades were in nursing care, and how many learners who are not in nursing care took the course. Also, Group registration is useful to manage learners in groups.

What other items do you view in the CSV export?

Mr. Uchiyama: We check the monthly login rate, the MAU rate (number of active users per month) for the previous month, and the utilization for each of the 14 courses.

In particular, we are trying to figure out the extent to which learners who have passed the JLPT exam have taken the exam preparation courses on learningBOX. The JLPT has five levels from N1 to N5, with N1 being the most difficult. We have many learners at the N3 and N4 levels.

As for the MAU rate, we started to compile the data last fiscal year, three years after the introduction of learningBOX. 40% was recorded in January of fiscal year 2023, but in fiscal year 2024, the average rate went down to 20% due to the rapid increase in the number of workers who entered the country. We are looking to improve our content in order to increase user utilization.

Multilingual Interface and Courteous Customer Support

Are there any feedback from your learners?

Mr. Uchiyama: We have interviewed them before, and some of them told us that they liked the features to allow them to take the content over and over again till they could memorize the correct answers. Also, since only a small percentage of our learners own a computer, many users are satisfied with mobile-learning using their own smartphones.

Do you have any requests for functionality?

Mr. Uchiyama: It would be nice if there were more variations in font weight and color in the form of report assignment. It would make it easier to provide feedback, highlighting areas that need emphasis.

Thank you for your ideas.
learningBOX now supports 18 languages at no extra charges from March 2024, how is the utilization status so far?

Mr. Uchiyama: We have not been able to tally the data, but we often see users’ screens on which Multilingual support is set. This is our request but it would be very helpful if the content and descriptions could be automatically translated in multiple languages.

Could you tell us about your future plans and prospects for business improvement?

Mr. Asaga: We are making plans to have our content available to others outside of our company in the future.

We are also working on launching an initiative to have learners start learning with learningBOX before arriving in Japan. By having workers create an account and start using the service while they are in the country, we try to increase the rate of usability.

In terms of specified technical skills, the number of fields is expanding other than nursing care, and inquiries from companies are increasing. Demand is expected to continue to grow, especially in the lodging, restaurant, and construction industries. We continue to develop a system to support both workers and companies.

Do you have any advice for those who are considering implementing learningBOX?

Mr. Uchiyama: It is a very affordable e-learning solution and easy to use even if you do not have special IT skills. I think learningBOX is an ideal platform for those who are new to build e-learning courses. There are so many functions and it may take some time to make full use of it, but content can be tailored and polished with your creativity, and data management will be more efficient.

The support staff is also excellent. When I have some questions, they respond quickly and politely.

Thank you for your participation
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