Matsushita college to train factory hands for management

The Asahi Shimbun

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will set up an in-house college in April to teach its brightest young manufacturing employees cutting-edge technologies and management skills.

Under the Monozukuri Daigakko (manufacturing college) program, selected workers with a few years exper- ience in manufacturing at the group's factories will enroll in the one-year program.
Graduates of the program will be regarded as candidates for plant managers.

The program will help the company ensure that skills in advanced technology will be passed down to younger generations of the Matsushita family, company officials said.

Matsushita has offered several skill-training programs for employees, but Monozukuri Daigakko "marks the first time for the company to set up a curriculum on such a systematic basis," an official said.

The company decided conventional training is inadequate to teach young employees advanced technologies.

The school will be established in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, close to the company's headquarters. Students will live in a dormitory.

A managing director in charge of personnel affairs will serve as the college president, while experienced workers in manufacturing will teach.

For the first year, 20 to 30 candidates will be picked for the program.

They will gain knowledge in advanced technology and learn management skills in a number of areas, including information technology, product quality, cost control and production schedules.
The students will also be taught courtesies and manners, as well as communication skills required of a leader.

To cultivate English skills, the students will attend classes taught by native English speakers. The goal is for students to score at least 550 on the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication).

Although Matsushita's business performance is favorable, the company has asked many middle-aged employees to take early retirement.

Postwar baby boomers born between 1947 and 1949 are expected to start retiring in droves in 2007. Manufacturers are faced with the urgent task of transferring the expertise of the retiring workers to younger employees.

Electronics makers are reversing a trend of increasing production overseas. They are finding that they can increase profits by making key components at domestic facilities.

(IHT/Asahi: March 8,2006)

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