Tokyo, 22 July, /AJMEDIA/
The operator of the Mos Burger chain will start recruiting skilled foreign workers to help restaurants cope with Japan’s labor shortage, officials of the fast food company have said, in a rare move for the sector.
Mos Food Services Inc. will first introduce workers with skilled worker visas to its franchisees nationwide, with an eye to expanding the business to restaurants outside the group in the future, the officials said.
Potential new hires will receive training required to work in the Mos Burger chain, such as how to speak to customers and handle ingredients, at an educational institution it has tied up with in Vietnam.
The company expects to begin recruiting workers next spring in accordance with the needs of franchisees, with the chain already having applied for approval with related agencies.
Mos Food Services has been offering training and jobs to people in Vietnam since 2019, when Japan launched the specified skilled worker program, leading to the employment of 37 workers currently at its headquarters and restaurants directly run by the company.
But its franchisees face challenges in hiring skilled foreign workers as they have to recruit workers on their own, while they also lack know-how in assisting them after they come to Japan, the company said.
The new staffing program will also introduce support measures to help foreign workers adjust to life in Japan smoothly by assisting them with securing housing and offering consultation services, it said.
“Stores cannot operate without workers,” Tsutomu Kawakoshi, executive officer at Mos Food Services, told Kyodo News. “It makes sense for the headquarters to step up efforts to secure more talent.”
Efforts to tap more foreign workers have been accelerating in recent years in the restaurant sector, which has been hit hard by the recent labor crunch due to long working hours and relatively low wages.
Watami Co, the operator of an izakaya Japanese-style pub chain, has set up a subsidiary focusing chiefly on recruiting foreign workers, while Chinese restaurant chain operator Hiday Hidaka Corp has been ramping up hiring of specified skilled workers.
