How the Japanese Learn to Work (Hardcover, 2nd edition)

Japan is regarded as a world leader in the field of education and training for improved economic performance. Yet success in Japan is often achieved by going against what is regarded as ideal practice elsewhere. This book offers the most comprehensive review available in English, fully updated from the first edition, of the many facets of Japanese vocational education and training. It covers the system from primary education through to in-job training offered by companies and provides a detailed study of current practice. This gives equal emphasis to formal training in explicitly vocational courses and informal training in factories, shops and offices.
The authors are also concerned to analyse the difference between substantive 'person-changing' training and mere 'ability-labelling'. They raise important issues such as: to what extent does the need to package skills to provide convenient qualifications distort the actual training given? How efficient is it to rely on professional trainers to certify the acquisition of skills, rather than run separate testing systems? In Japanese companies the authors have discovered that pride in doing the job well is often the strongest motivation, and that much company training is carried out by colleagues.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203015754