We assist employees achieve their dreams of self-fulfillment, and we develop people who connect and support all the companies in the Epson Group. We provide various trainings so that our people understand their roles and what is expected of them as members of the Epson team. Training enables them to work and communicate effectively, solve problems and achieve goals, and experience personal and professional growth.

A feature of human resource development at Epson is that we provide level-based group training at every juncture along the career path, from entry level jobs through management, and give employees a chance to put into practice on the job the knowledge they acquire.

After completing group training, new hires undergo a one-year practicum. Other employees who complete other group trainings undergo a three-month practicum. During the practicum, employees prepare action plans based on what they learned and put these plans into action on the job under the supervision of their supervisors, thus enhancing their ability to use the knowledge and skills they learned during training, in their actual jobs.

Epson has used a management by objectives systems for more than 30 years. All employees of every grade are subject to the systems, and managers and their subordinates work together to set objectives that they can both agree on. Progress toward the objectives is periodically reviewed, end results are evaluated, and new, higher objectives are set. The management by objectives system is itself an on-the-job human resource training system. It is a win-win development cycle in which individual growth leads to the growth of the organization and the company.

Seiko Epson requires that employees complete a course in management practices before being appointed to a management position. This course prepares them to meet the requirements as a manager by ensuring that they understand their role in terms of both business and actions. On the business end, they learn the skills they need to understand strategic business objectives and respond rapidly and nimbly to internal and external changes in the business environment. On the action end, they learn the skills they need to support the growth and development of the people who report to them by putting organizations and individuals in a position to succeed.

In addition, we provide training for new employees, group training for each grade, and various open-type training to develop people who will fulfill roles as future middle managers step-by-step.

In addition to a course in management practices for managers and employees who will be appointed to a management position, Epson provides training (F1, F2, and F3 course) to selected employees. In the F1 course, director candidates learn the skills needed to be a top executive. The F2 course is used to prepare middle managers to take the reins of a business or division. In the F3 course participants learn the basics of business through simulated exercises. Through these courses, Epson develops future leaders across the group.

Epson considers the first year of employment to be a training period during which new employees learn about the Epson approach to work. For the first three weeks, new employees in Epson Group companies in Japan gather for group training, where they learn the following:

After they complete group training, new employees are sent to the department where they have been assigned. There they learn their job through on-the-job training under a mentor. Mentors are usually selected from among young employees with three to five years of experience. They produce training plans tailored to the individuals they will be mentoring and, for a full year, provide them with the support they will need to stand on their own. Mentors themselves are expected to grow through this experience.

At the end of the first year, the new employees gather again for follow-up group training, where they can observe how they and others have grown and developed. To further solidify the foundation they have built as a business professional, they review the previous year and consider action plans for the next year and beyond to achieve further growth and expand their contributions to the company.

Epson is actively developing human resources who can work effectively globally.
Young employees are dispatched to Epson Group companies overseas in order to develop global-minded human resources. (Trainee program)

Epson continuously implements initiatives aimed at being an organization that promotes personnel development. We provide support towards building motivating and challenging careers that encourage growth. To help our employees set their own medium- and long-term career goals and take actions toward achieving them, we have been offering Lifetime Career Support (LTCS) since FY2016. The LTCS provides age- and grade-specific training, which gives employees an opportunity to independently plan their own career path.

FY2021 training results

LTCS50 training (for all employees age 50) - 463 people (2,227 since FY2016)
LTCS40 training (for all employees age 40) - 253 people (1,749 since FY2016)

In addition, we contribute to the community and society by giving practical training for new employees of local businesses, offering corporate experiences to junior and senior high school students, and providing instruction for technical skill trainings. We also send experts abroad to take part in official development assistance for building technical skill evaluation systems at the request of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Recently, we have faced labor shortages in manufacturing due to rapidly rising wages and workers' preference for non-manufacturing jobs. In addition, we have suffered from logistics being disrupted due to natural disasters and the spread of COVID19, causing delays in delivering products to customers. It has become difficult for Epson to manage these changes with conventional manufacturing, which assumes an abundant and low-cost labor force and centralized production. In our Epson 25 Renewed corporate vision we therefore proposed promoting smart factories using automation and digital technologies and strengthening distributed and local production.
Monozukuri Juku provides opportunities for employees to learn. We hold more than 200 training courses a year to develop the technical abilities of engineers supporting production lines. The training includes mechanical drafting and calibration necessary for manufacturing equipment, as well as machining skills. In addition, we offer basic mechatronics training to help cultivate engineers who will promote automation by teaching them basic technologies such as pneumatic and electrical control. the basics of equipment assembly and adjustment, FA robot training, image processing training, and practical mechatronics training to allow them acquire more practical technologies and skills.

Monozukuri Juku does not only train Japanese engineers but also engineers from our manufacturing affiliates worldwide, where we seek to educate the employees about manufacturing and machine maintenance in order to develop future local leaders.
Due to difficulties in overseas travel, we have established remote training system so we can provide our training program on schedule even in difficult times.
Through these efforts, we will promote optimal human resource development and improve the process control level of each of our worldwide affiliate companies so we can respond strategies such as distributed production.

As a manufacturing company, Epson uses training for WorldSkills competitions to develop "groundbreaker technicians"^*1 who have acquired essential manufacturing knowledge and skills at an early age. As a rule, individuals are allowed to take part in WorldSkills trainings just once. The purpose of the short-term intensive trainings is to help participants learn technical skills at the all-Japan level. Every year we send 10-15 individuals to the National Skills Competition associated with WorldSkills to compete in six selected occupational categories that are applicable to our employees' work: Instrument making, Plastic die engineering, Mechatronics, Industrial electronics, Web design, and Watch repair.

New employees sent to Monozukuri Juku as WorldSkills trainees experience monozukuri (the art and science of manufacturing) in such forms as filing and sawing. They also learn basic knowledge about machinery, electricity, and other general topics in each occupational category. In conjunction with everyday occupation-specific training, there are training camps three times a year. Participants lodge together, run a long distance, set targets, and the like. All of this helps to build a sense of solidarity as a team.

To recreate the feel of the national competition, we also hold joint training events with other companies that take part in WorldSkills. Additionally, our employees actively pursue such national qualifications as machining technician, electronic device assembly technician, web design technician, and watch repair technician. After participants finish WorldSkills trainings, they get practical training to help them build the basic skills learned there into skills they can use to make products. Each participant then joins an operations division. The units they join often praise these employees for performing beyond expectations.

^*1 Technicians with the ability to break from precedent to create innovative technologies and systems.