Employment for Skill Development Starts April 1, 2027｜Transition from Technical Intern Training and How Employers Should Prepare

The Technical Intern Training system will be developmentally dissolved, and the newly created Employment for Skill Development system will start on April 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9). This article sets out, based on primary sources, the purpose and framework of the new system, how it differs from Technical Intern Training, the transfer at the worker’s own request that lies at the heart of the reform, and the transitional measures that apply to current technical intern trainees. It is written for companies and supervising organizations that accept trainees, and for trainees themselves.

Sources: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “About the Employment for Skill Development System”; “Outline of the Employment for Skill Development System (revised December 2025)”; “Employment for Skill Development Q&A”; Immigration Services Agency of Japan and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Operational Guidelines for the Employment for Skill Development System”; Organization for Technical Intern Training, “On the Transition to Technical Intern Training (iii)“

What is Employment for Skill Development

On June 21, 2024 (Reiwa 6), the Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the Act on Proper Technical Intern Training and Protection of Technical Intern Trainees (Act No. 60 of Reiwa 6) was promulgated. It developmentally dissolves the Technical Intern Training system, whose purpose was international contribution through the transfer of skills, and creates the Employment for Skill Development system, whose purpose is to develop and secure human resources in fields facing labour shortages in Japan.

The stated purpose is to develop, through three years of work in Japan in the “Employment for Skill Development industrial fields,” human resources with skills at the level of Specified Skilled Worker (i), while securing human resources in those fields. The Employment for Skill Development industrial fields are those specified industrial fields of the Specified Skilled Worker system in which it is appropriate to have skills acquired through work. Even a field covered by the Specified Skilled Worker system falls outside Employment for Skill Development if it is not suited to skill development within Japan.

The system rests on three pillars.

• Certification of the Employment for Skill Development plan　A plan is prepared for each foreign national and is subject to certification. It states the period of employment for skill development (within three years), the goals (duties, skills, Japanese language ability, etc.) and the content, and must be certified by the Organization for Employment for Skill Development of Foreign Nationals.
• Licensing of supervising and supporting organizations　Supervising and supporting organizations, which handle the arrangement of employment relationships and audit whether employment for skill development is being properly carried out, are subject to licensing.
• Acceptance caps under field-specific operational policies　The field-specific operational policy sets, for each field, the projected number of workers to be accepted based on the shortfall that remains after productivity improvements and efforts to secure domestic workers, and that figure is applied as the maximum number to be accepted.

How it differs from Technical Intern Training

Within the scope confirmable from Immigration Services Agency materials, the main differences are as follows.

Item	Technical Intern Training	Employment for Skill Development
Purpose	International contribution through transfer of skills	Development and securing of human resources in fields facing labour shortages
Period	Stages (i), (ii) and (iii)	Three years (the period stated in the plan is within three years)
Scope of acceptance	Defined by occupation and operation	Employment for Skill Development industrial fields; caps set by field-specific operational policy
Transfer at the worker’s own request	Not contemplated by the system	Permitted subject to certain requirements
Japanese before starting work	Depends on rules for each occupation	Pass a test at CEFR A1 equivalent or above, or take an equivalent Japanese language course
Supervising body	Supervising organization (licensed)	Supervising and supporting organization (licensed; stricter standards; external audit measures are a statutory obligation)
Plan certification and on-site inspection	Organization for Technical Intern Training	Organization for Employment for Skill Development of Foreign Nationals
Integrity of sending	—	Bilateral Memoranda of Cooperation (MOC); mechanisms so that fees paid to sending organizations are not unreasonably high

As for supervising and supporting organizations, officers and employees who have a close relationship with the accepting organization must not be involved in any business other than the management of personal information and the delivery of post-entry courses (Article 39, paragraph 5 of the Employment for Skill Development Act). The Operational Guidelines state that “involvement” covers not only direct participation but also giving instructions or orders as a superior or approver, amending drafts, acting through a third party, and otherwise exerting influence over the staff in charge.

Important: Even a supervising organization under the Technical Intern Training system cannot carry out supervising and supporting business without a licence as a supervising and supporting organization. Separately, the Organization for Technical Intern Training asks that applications for a new supervising organization licence under the Technical Intern Training system be filed by September 30, 2026 (Reiwa 8).

Transfer at the worker’s own request — the core of the reform

The system protects workers’ rights in part by permitting foreign nationals to transfer to another accepting organization at their own request, subject to certain requirements. Those requirements are set out in Article 9-2, item 4, (a), (b) and (c) of the Employment for Skill Development Act.

Requirement	Content
Transfer restriction period has elapsed (item (a))	As of the start date of the new plan for which certification is sought, the period during which the former (or, if there are several, the most recent) accepting organization had the worker engage in employment for skill development must exceed the transfer restriction period set by the field-specific operational policy
Skills and Japanese language ability (item (b))	The worker must have passed the skills test and the Japanese language test at the level set by the field-specific operational policy
Standards for the receiving organization (item (c))	The foreign nationals the receiving organization currently accepts must not consist solely of transferees; the number of own-request transferees must be within one third of all Employment for Skill Development foreign nationals present after the transfer, among other conditions

The length of the transfer restriction period is the point most often misunderstood. The Operational Guidelines state that “the transfer restriction period is to be set in the field-specific operational policy within a range of one to two years for each Employment for Skill Development industrial field, taking into account the content of the duties and other factors.” The glossary likewise defines it as “the period restricting a change of accepting organization, set in the field-specific operational policy for each Employment for Skill Development industrial field within a range of not less than one year and not more than two years.”

Note: The transfer restriction period is not uniform across fields. Do not assume “you can move after one year” or “you cannot move for two years.” Always check the operational policy for your own field.

Three further points matter in practice.

First, even where the field-specific operational policy sets a transfer restriction period longer than one year, an accepting organization may decide on its own to set the period at one year. The period appears in the “period restricting a change of accepting organization” column of the Employment for Skill Development plan, so the worker can confirm it there. Conversely, where a period longer than one year is set, the organization must improve treatment — pay increases and other measures set by the field-specific operational policy — once one year has elapsed.

Second, there is a mechanism to prevent concentration in major urban areas. Where an accepting organization’s address is outside the designated areas (broadly, the major metropolitan areas), own-request transferees accepted from within the designated areas (broadly, regional areas) must be within one sixth of all Employment for Skill Development foreign nationals present after the transfer. However, where five or fewer such workers will be present after the transfer, one such transferee may be accepted.

Third, transfer for unavoidable reasons — such as violence, power harassment or other human rights violations — is permitted separately from the transfer restriction period. The Operational Guidelines state that conduct by an accepting organization such as refusing to let a worker sit the required tests, or obstructing the sitting of those tests, in order to prevent a transfer may constitute grounds for revoking certification of the plan, and that once such conduct is found, transfer may be permitted on the basis that unavoidable reasons exist.

When it changes — enforcement date and transitional measures

Operation of the Employment for Skill Development system begins on April 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9). The transitional measures for technical intern trainees are as follows.

Situation as of the enforcement date	Treatment
Entered Japan before the enforcement date and actually undergoing technical intern training on that date	May continue technical intern training
Application for certification of a technical intern training plan filed before the enforcement date	May in some cases enter Japan as a technical intern trainee after the enforcement date (limited to plans starting within three months of the enforcement date; certification may be granted after the enforcement date)
Already completed technical intern training and left Japan before the enforcement date	Cannot re-enter as a technical intern trainee (depending on the period and occupation of the training, re-entry as an Employment for Skill Development foreign national may be possible)

Important: Where technical intern training continues after the enforcement date under the above, the rules of the Technical Intern Training system apply, and it is not possible to move from Technical Intern Training to Employment for Skill Development.

Moving to Technical Intern Training (iii) is restricted more tightly. A Technical Intern Training (i) trainee undergoing training as of the enforcement date (April 1, 2027) may still move to (ii) afterwards, but the move to (iii) is limited to Technical Intern Training (ii) trainees who, as of the enforcement date, have been engaged in Technical Intern Training (ii) for one year or more. The Organization for Technical Intern Training states that, to move to (iii), the trainee must have started Technical Intern Training (ii) activities by April 1, 2026 (Reiwa 8) at the latest.

Preparation has proceeded in stages: the basic policy was adopted by Cabinet decision on March 11, 2025 (Reiwa 7), the competent ministerial ordinances were promulgated on September 30, 2025, and the Cabinet Orders were promulgated on October 1, 2025.

Connecting to Specified Skilled Worker (i)

Employment for Skill Development is designed to develop, over three years, human resources at the level of Specified Skilled Worker (i). The route ahead therefore runs to Specified Skilled Worker (i) (five years) and then Specified Skilled Worker (ii) (no limit on the period of stay).

Moving to Specified Skilled Worker (i) requires passing a skills test — the Grade 3 National Trade Skills Test or the Specified Skilled Worker (i) evaluation test, for example — and a Japanese language test at CEFR A2 equivalent or above (JLPT N4, etc.). Those who fail are allowed to continue their stay for up to one year in order to retake the test. For the overall picture, see Complete Guide to the Specified Skilled Worker Visa: Differences Between (i) and (ii) and the 19 Eligible Sectors, and for the route toward permanent residence, see Expansion of Specified Skilled Worker (ii): 11 Fields That Opened a Path to Permanent Residence.

For those currently in technical intern training, the route to Specified Skilled Worker (i) continues for the time being under the transitional measures. For the test exemption conditions and the procedure, see Moving from Technical Intern Training to Specified Skilled Worker: Conditions for Test Exemption. Where the educational background and job content requirements are met, Changing from Technical Intern Training to the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Visa is another option.

What accepting companies should prepare now

Time is short. In practice, five points deserve priority.

1. Confirm your relationship with your supervising organization.　Check early whether your current supervising organization intends to obtain a licence as a supervising and supporting organization. Employment for skill development cannot continue through an unlicensed body.
2. Check the operational policy for your field.　The acceptance cap, the transfer restriction period, and the skills and Japanese tests that condition a transfer are all set field by field. Field-specific operational policies and the field-specific supplementary standard notifications are published by field on the Immigration Services Agency website.
3. Design the Employment for Skill Development plan.　The plan states the period (within three years) and the goals (duties, skills, Japanese language ability, etc.) and must be certified by the Organization for Employment for Skill Development of Foreign Nationals. Whether to set a transfer restriction period longer than one year, or to set one year and thereby avoid the obligation to improve treatment, is a management decision worth settling early.
4. Japanese language training arrangements.　The system assumes the worker has reached CEFR A1 equivalent before starting work. If passing an A1-equivalent test cannot be evidenced at the time of the certification application, the worker must take at least 100 hours of the “course for employment” at a certified Japanese language institution within the Japanese language subject of the post-entry course, and the total course hours become 320 hours or more. Where an A1-equivalent test has been passed, the total is 220 hours or more. The legal protection subject is eight hours or more.
5. Housing.　The accepting organization or the supervising and supporting organization must secure appropriate accommodation for the worker. As a precondition, the accommodation must be a “building” that satisfies the standards of the Building Standards Act.

Notification and support obligations for accepting organizations were institutionalised earlier under the Specified Skilled Worker system. Obligations of Companies Accepting Specified Skilled Workers: Support Plans and Notifications is a useful reference when building an acceptance structure for the new system.

What technical intern trainees should know now

If you are currently in technical intern training, check three things.

First, if you are undergoing technical intern training as of April 1, 2027, you may continue it. A change in the law does not mean you must return home immediately. However, since you cannot move from Technical Intern Training to Employment for Skill Development, your onward path should be planned around a move to Specified Skilled Worker (i) or a similar route.

Second, if you are aiming for Technical Intern Training (iii), you must have been in (ii) for one year or more as of April 1, 2027. Please check again when your (ii) activities began.

Third, once you have completed technical intern training and left Japan, you cannot re-enter as a technical intern trainee. Depending on the period and occupation of your training, however, re-entry as an Employment for Skill Development foreign national may be possible.

Summary

• Employment for Skill Development begins operation on April 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9), under Act No. 60 of Reiwa 6.
• Its purpose is not international contribution through the transfer of skills but the development and securing of human resources in fields facing labour shortages, producing Specified Skilled Worker (i) level workers over three years.
• Transfer at the worker’s own request is permitted subject to requirements. The transfer restriction period is set field by field within a range of not less than one year and not more than two years — it is not uniform.
• Those undergoing technical intern training as of the enforcement date may continue it, but cannot move from Technical Intern Training to Employment for Skill Development.
• The move to Technical Intern Training (iii) is limited to those engaged in Technical Intern Training (ii) for one year or more as of the enforcement date.
• A supervising organization cannot carry out supervising and supporting business without a licence as a supervising and supporting organization.

How Our Office Can Help

For the transition to Employment for Skill Development, planning the route after technical intern training, and changing status of residence to Specified Skilled Worker, please rely on the Kaneko Hidetaka Gyoseishoshi Lawyer’s Office. We accept enquiries both from accepting companies building their structures and from trainees themselves.

• 98% approval rate track record
• Languages: Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, English
• Free initial consultation
• Serving Chiba and Tokyo, and nationwide (online consultations available)

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