Ohno and Project Members Discuss Industrial Human Resource Development at the 22nd JASID Spring Conference

Ohno kicked off the event stating "We need to reflect on Japan’s cooperation in the past while putting in perspective the multifaceted dimensions of industrial human resources. It is important to draw the implications and consider challenges Africa faces - where structural transformation is a particularly critical issue - and bridge the gap between research and practice.” JICA Ogata Research Institute Research Officer Tsujimoto Atsushi, who is one of the authors of the book, gave his presentation. Reviewing the historical characteristics of Japan's cooperation in industrial human resource development, he stated that “Japan’s traditional cooperation in industrial human resource development has been hands-on and taken an ‘ingredients approach’ at technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, which is different from the current global trend of focusing on support for TVET policies.” Jin Kimiaki, senior assistant director of the JICA Ogata Research Institute, also took part in the roundtable as a panelist. He pointed out that “When spreading Kaizen in Africa, it is important for local people to reinterpret technology and knowledge according to the African context (translative adaptation) in a proactive way.” He discussed the differences between roles that are necessary in school education and in workplace training.

A wide range of issues were discussed during the plenary discussion, including the significance of "education" from an industrial perspective, the formation of soft skills, the challenges of Kaizen, workforce diversity, and different natures of organizations.