Basic approach

Futaba’s human resources development policy is to “continue providing the framework and opportunities for education that will fulfill the human resources management strategy.” To this end, we are continuing to implement the human resources development cycle (setting targets and giving roles; demonstrating capabilities and results; evaluations and feedback), and in order to support it, we hold OJT and OFF-JT sessions (various training programs) and training rotations (work transfers). We have defined the skills and capabilities required at each job level and are strengthening education measures to acquire these abilities. In FY2024, among the various measures to be enhanced, particular emphasis was placed on the career achievement mechanism, with managers formulating career paths based on their subordinates’ career self-assessment and establishing a foundation for planned on-the-job training. In addition, we provided career design training to young employees to give them an opportunity to organize their own aspirations.

Career achievement mechanism to achieve every employee playing an active role

Training system (Non-consolidated)

Amount of investment in education based on the training system(Non-consolidated)
*Excluding individual training at workplaces for clerical and skilled workers

FY	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Amount of investment in education (million yen)	138	136	148	231	373

Definition of human resources necessary to achieve strategies

Management human resources: Human resources with time, geographic, and objective vision to realize management and business strategies

Global human resources: Human resources who can formulate and complete their own goals to solve the Futaba Group’s issues and deploy best practices globally

Human resources with digital skills: Human resources who harness digital data to transform the ways they work and change operational processes

Human resources for monozukuri: Human resources who can utilize core technologies (forming and welding), create added value, and contribute to society through monozukuri

Advancing development of human resources with global mind

We are actively assigning young executives to be heads of global sites or equivalent global posts, and through their management experience, we are promoting the development of human resources who can play an active role both in Japan and overseas. In April 2025, we newly established the India Business Center, which will be responsible for business expansion in the fast-growing Indian market, while at the same time further accelerating the development of human resources with a global perspective. We deploy Head Office measures to global sites and provide opportunities for directly interacting with local feedback in the process of implementing the PDCA cycle. By doing so, we expect young employees to develop an international mindset from an early stage. At each of our global sites, we are actively promoting the appointment of national staff to senior management positions, establishing localized management, and building an autonomous management structure.

Developing human resources through active rotation and appropriately allocating human resources

To achieve job satisfaction and individual growth as stated in the medium-term management plan announced in May 2025, we are focusing on the following four points: (1) transfers based on career plans, (2) providing opportunities to utilize expertise, (3) fair promotions based on multifaceted evaluation, and (4) clarifying the kind of professionals to develop and supporting gradual growth to become these. Regarding transfers, the number of managers transferred annually has approximately doubled compared to five years ago, part of stimulating a vitalized organization. On the other hand, for younger employees, we are working to place the right person in the right job, taking into account work engagement and career paths for each individual through dialogue with their managers.

Developing management human resources

Until now, management education has focused on acquiring management techniques to efficiently produce results. However, an increasing number of employees have voiced concerns about their managers’ communication in our annual internal survey, including a desire for more authentic communication of policies and ideas in the managers’ own words. To meet this expectation, we created and developed an educational video to encourage managers to uniquely express their ideas in their own words and to encourage dialogue with their subordinates. We have also launched Management Statements formulated by each manager, from Center Chiefs to managers, based on our new management system. Utilizing these statements in operations encourages workplace management from a broad perspective through activities in which each manager carefully communicates the organizational vision and medium- to long-term goals that they have formulated to subordinates. We will continue to review and improve these measures on an ongoing basis to develop management human resources in line with the times.

Strengthening the development of global human resources

We are implementing the following measures to nurture as many employees as possible who embody our Values (Better Forever All Together) (see page 79), who always think globally, build deep relationships of trust with members of global sites, consistently take on challenges, and act with personal growth and the growth of the team in mind.

Providing learning opportunities to strengthen language abilities

We support employees’ proactive learning by enhancing self-development content according to their level and reviewing the cost assistance system. For younger employees, we have expanded practical training (role-plays with local staff, etc.) that simulates overseas assignments and pre-deployment language training for the overseas trainee program. Furthermore, for managers, we remove them from work duties completely to provide intensive English-language training prior to overseas assignments, cultivating human resources who can be immediately effective in the local market.

Overseas trainee system

• To develop future global leaders, we provide young employees with opportunities to play active roles on a global scale. We are enhancing this system each year by expanding the number of eligible employees and allowing family members to accompany them. Our systematic human resources development is steadily producing positive results, as evidenced by the fact that three employees who have experienced this program have gained further experience after returning to Japan and have been reassigned to global sites. In addition, in FY2023, we started dispatching national staff from global sites to Japan for training. We encourage two-way personnel exchange and growth by having them apply the experience of learning about our operations and philosophy at our Head Office in Japan to their home countries after the exchange.

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Developing human resources to equip them with digital skills

By utilizing both TQM and digital technologies, we aim to cultivate human resources with digital skills to become a company where all employees are capable of harnessing digital data and speedily transform the ways they work and change operational processes. In order to promote the planning of cross-divisional issues and make practical use of digital technologies, particularly generative AI, we conduct accompanying theme-based practical education with the cooperation of external experts. Our goal was to train 570 personnel in FY2025, and we had trained 613 by the end of FY2024, achieving our goal.

System to equip human resources with digital skills

Practical education content with outside DX experts

• • Hands-on learning of user application development on the theme of issues in one’s own department
  • Planning and implementation of education and digitalization programs aimed at process transformation
  • Specific proposals of how to utilize generative AI in work by experts, prompt input training
  • Hands-on training of plant network managers through system introduction
  • Hands-on education for data scientists using data analysis tools

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  Education regarding utilization of generative AI

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  Plant network management

Developing human resources for monozukuri

While placing priority on safety and quality, we are working tirelessly to improve and standardize processes and introduce the latest production technologies. This will enable us to expand the area of each worker’s responsibility (multi-skilling) and attempt to balance measures to cope with the declining birthrate and aging population against improvements to productivity. With the aim of strengthening individuals and organizations^*, we will continue to strengthen hands-on education with actual equipment on site.

*Strengthening of individuals and organizations: Individuals: Creating a skills map commensurate with each employee, and systematically upskilling through interviews and confirmation with superiors and subordinates. Organizations: Strengthening organizations by cultivating team leaders, group leaders, assistant managers, managers, general managers, and plant managers who are capable of executing the five major tasks (safety, quality, cost, productivity, and human resource cultivation)

Introduction of a video education program to deepen understanding of our personnel system

• A new video-based education program has been introduced to help employees better understand our personnel system and proactively engage in their own career development. The program provides video content that explains the system’s outline, evaluation criteria, and promotion requirements in an easy-to-understand manner, developing human resources with a deeper understanding of our personnel system through visual learning unbound by time restrictions.

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  Video education

Holding the Futaba Skills Competition

• The Futaba Skills Competition, which aims to develop skilled human resources, marked its 12th year in 2025. A total of 51 participants took part in five events this time: welding, inspection, sheet metal work, electrical work, and forklift operation. On the day of the event, a total of 200 people, including athlete supervisors and colleagues, participated in the event and studied each other's skills.

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  Futaba Skills Competition (sheet metal work)

Introduction of a specialist system in the skilled workplace

A new personnel system to support each employee’s self-motivated learning and growth was fully introduced in January 2025. This system sets the acquisition of advanced national certifications and the achievement of certain standards in job performance evaluation as conditions for promotion. In this way, we aim to promote the development of human resources with highly specialized skills and foster a culture in which employees can proactively develop their careers.

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  Skills Certification Training

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