### Section 3. Issues in developing worker's career

The way of occupational career development varies depending on employment forms. The wages of non-regular workers are relatively low even if their period of service is long. They also have fewer education and training opportunities inside and outside the workplace. Therefore, it is pointed out that accumulating human capital for non-regular workers is challenging. In particular, the issue of non-regular workers who wish to be employed as a regular worker but are not able to realize this (involuntary non-regular workers) is important and they require support to be transferred to regular employment.

About 20% of non-regular workers are these involuntary non-regular workers. The ratio is high in young generations who are engaged in accommodation, eating and drinking services, and wholesale and retail trades. By occupation, there are many involuntary non-regular workers in sales and service. Focusing on the shift from non-regular employment to regular employment, the ratio of shift to regular employment in the same industry and occupation is high. Factors that produce positive effects on determining a shift from non-regular to regular employment are: lower ages, certain years of work experience in the same company and participation in courses in a university or a graduate school using public subsidy. Besides, a person who was a regular employee in the first job can obtain a regular employment again more easily even if he or she temporarily became a non-regular worker.

## (Increase in the number of non-regular workers by employment contract period)

Figure 70 shows the expansion of non-regular employment based on the attribute in contract period. It indicates that, in the period from 1982 to 2012, the ratio of regular workers decreased from 89.8% to 72.6%. On the other hand, the ratio of non-regular workers whose period of employment contract is more than one year (permanent employees) increased from 3.8% to 15.9%. As a result, long-term employment contract makes up the majority on a contract basis. On the contrary, the ratio of non-regular workers whose period of employment contract is less than one year (temporary/daily employees) increased from 6.5% in 1982 to 11.5% in 2012.

## (Distribution of involuntary non-regular workers by industry and occupation)

According to the General Survey on Diversified Types of Employment (2010) by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, many people said that they chose non-regular employment because "they can work at times convenient to them," and "they would like to support their household budget or earn money for school fees." However, about 20% involuntarily became a non-regular worker because "there was no company where they can work as a regular employee" (Figure 71). Looking at the characteristics of industry and occupation based on the independent results of the "Basic Statistical Survey on Employment Structure (2012)," Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the ratio of involuntary non-regular workers is high in accommodation, eating and drinking services, and wholesale and retail trades for those aged between 15 and 24. By occupation, many of those in the same age groups are engaged in sales and service. By industry, many involuntary regular workers aged between 25 and 34 are engaged in manufacturing, transport and postal activities, medical and welfare services, services (which cannot be classified into others). By occupation, the ratio is high in a wide variety of fields including professional and engineering workers, clerical workers, manufacturing process workers, carrying, cleaning, packaging and related workers (Figure 72).

## (Industrial and occupational characteristics that promote shift from non-regular to regular employment)

What are the necessary conditions for the shift from non-regular employment to regular employment? As a hypothesis, it is considered that shift in the same industry is easier if industry-specific capital is accumulated through working in a certain industry. If occupation-specific capital is accumulated, as in industry-specific capital, it is easier to transfer between the same occupation. Moreover, occupations in which an external evaluation system is developed, it is considered that shift to regular employment can be implemented smoothly.

Based on this, we will look at the characteristics of labour turnover between industries in Table 73,