ALT's in Japan, Do you know about this?

[deezacharo]

I worked for a huge japanese company for 4 years as a contracter and they stop my contract just after Leiman Bros. So that means i can sue them? because they dident offer me a full time position, I also remember that I did mention it to my supervisor but he totaly ignored me.

[poodle8noodle]

Do you know Nenjikaikakuyobosho 年次改革要望書?

Haken system used to be used for only technical jobs but during Koizumi ministration the regulation was loosen by America's demand.

It was listed on Nenjikaikakuyobosho which is annual list of demand by the US.

(The U.S.-Japan Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative)

watch?v=AoIqkOAGN0w

watch?v=IsPTYPdkuXs

Because of the reform, Haken employees became disposal labors.

[MrKoize]

People would go crazy if they stayed with the same school for more than 3 years. The teaching of kids is the easy part. Office politics and the Japanese bureaucracy are another matter. Why would you want to stay in the same school for a long period of time and lose your sanity?

If you want to be a full-time teacher, get a Masters and teach at a university.

[gokuo64]

@MrKoize Thanks for your comment. "Going Crazy" would depend on the person, wouldn't it? Sure, some would go crazy, some wouldn't. I'm not just talking about working for the same school for 3 years, but working at the same BOE in the same city for more than 2 years too. Right now, ALT's don't really have a choice. Having the choice of working for a BOE or a Hakengaisha would be ideal.

[MrKoize]

@gokuo64 very true.

[mybigtokachi]

...cond. I've worked for the same BOE for 12 years on a series of 1 year contracts. They avoid the teishokubi problem by having me fill out a new rerekisho every 3 years. Essentially, I become a new hire every 3 years. It's a stable position, the pay is standard JET monthly rate with none of the extras (air fair, bonus, paid "training" trips), and they have been exceptionally good employers. I even have a small business on the side that allows me to afford house payments. very win-win

[mybigtokachi]

The reason the Japanese school teachers move around is because they are prefectural employees, not city employees.  There are also 2 tracks for them as well. Some are regular civil service employees (komuin) and some aren't . The latter group are on short term contracts, usually for 1 year or less and face the same dilemna you do in looking for their next assignment.

[gokuo64]

@mybigtokachi Thanks for the information. It may be useful in the future! However! There seems to be a significant difference between our situations. I work for a hakengaisha and they make a contract with the BOE. Once a BOE starts doing buisness with a hakengaisha it doesn't make contracts with individuals too right? The BOE has to get all of it's ALT's from the company. Or am I wrong? Can I directly apply to work for a BOE as an individual?

The Chiba-ken BOE told me I couldn't.

[mybigtokachi]

@gokuo64 It all depends on what age of students you want/are willing to teach and where you want to live. The prefectural BOE would be hiring ALTs to work at high schools, right? I'm sure the dispatch agencies try to get sole source contracts. But the local city BOEs are under the control of the city, not the prefecture. So just because the prefectural BOE only uses dispatch ALTs in the high schools doesn't mean that local BOEs have to.

[mo389]

id like to go to japan and possibly work there aswell but what for me is off putting is that it at times seems as though they are very particular about how foreigners dont understand the culture. it almost feels kind of unwelcoming, how did you feel?.

[gokuo64]

@mo389 Thanks for the reply. I wouldn't say people are unwelcoming. Elders of society feel their culture defines them and who they are as "Japanese". So, when foreigners come to Japan and try doing everything differently the Japanese culture gets replaced with more western ideas, which scares them and tends to upset them. However, I feel this is mostly older men and women and most young people I meet love meeting people from foreign countries and find the cultural differences interesting!

[gokuo64]

@gokuo64 Also, welcoming people from foreign countries and living with them requires some changes to their daily lives to accommodate them. Many people are afraid of change right? And, in a society, things tend to take a long time to change. Japan is changing but our cultures still don't mesh very well so problems arise from time to time. The nice part is that if you take an interest in Japan and the language and really try to understand the people here, in return, many will do the same :)

[sdurameshi19]

Thanks for the video. I'm considering being an ALT in Japan myself in the future. Going to get a degree in Japanese and move out there soon.

[gokuo64]

Thanks for watching and commenting. It's a great job and I love working with the kids. It's just not the kind of job you can make a career out of. However I have met some people who moved to Japan, got married and have been ALTs for 5-10 plus years.

[rivetgunner]

Yes, the "haken" problem in Japan. Employment laws in Japan has been deregulated time and time again in favor of the staffing agencies. I'm thinking of making a video about this subject.

[gokuo64]

Hi, thanks for commenting! As much as I enjoy this job, it's not stable enough for me to do for a long time. I eventually would like to own a home, hopefully get married and have a family. Even though I know it's possible to do on an ALT salary, I'd rather settle into a full time position. No contracts. If I never find a job like that, I may end up having to leave Japan :(

[ilovebraziljapan]

shenzishenzi (Paulo) also works an ALT! :)

Too bad that ALTs can't work full time! :(

[gokuo64]

Sorry for not replying sooner! Yes I messaged Paul, too bad he's leaving Japan. He seems like a good teacher and all around nice guy from his videos. Japan needs more people like him!