Retraining for a Job: Public Vocational Training

Hello Training is the nickname for public vocational training, and courses for job seekers are in principle tuition-free, although trainees pay for textbooks and similar materials. It is a public program, not a label for private schools, so the idea that you pay the tuition yourself does not fit. Job referrals are Hello Work's placement service, not the name for the training itself. Courses for employed people exist, but the program is not limited to them; courses for people who have left their jobs are its core.

For both kinds of training, tuition is in principle free and trainees pay for textbooks and similar costs, so it is not true that there is nothing to pay. The 100,000 yen a month is the amount of the vocational training allowance under the Job Seeker Support System (求職者支援制度), not a tuition fee. Because tuition is free, nothing is deducted from the benefit to cover it.

The Ministry explains that public vocational training for job leavers is mainly for job seekers receiving employment insurance benefits, while job seeker support training is mainly for job seekers who cannot receive them, including those whose benefits have ended. The pairing that swaps the two has them backwards. Job seeker support training exists precisely for people without employment insurance benefits, so saying both are only for benefit recipients is wrong. Both are designed for job seekers; training for employed people is a separate category.

E-learning courses let trainees study over the internet at the days and times they prefer. However, some courses include in-person sessions (schooling), and some require trainees to provide their own computer and internet connection. Not all training is online, so you still need to choose a course carefully. If you receive the benefit, you must complete all of the training hours; the requirements are not waived. Official guidance also states that if watching videos at double speed leaves your actual study time short, the benefit will not be paid.

The vocational training allowance is 100,000 yen a month. The figure of 80,000 yen is the upper limit on your own income (80,000 yen or less a month), not the allowance. There is no fixed amount of 50,000 yen. An amount based on your previous salary is how employment insurance benefits work; the allowance under the Job Seeker Support System is a fixed amount.

The main requirements include your own income being 80,000 yen a month or less, total household income being 300,000 yen a month or less, and total household financial assets being 3 million yen or less. Own income of 120,000 yen or less is the threshold for receiving only the commuting allowance, not the training allowance. The household income limit is 300,000 yen a month, not 500,000 yen. As for past receipt, the rule is that you must not have received it in the past six years, so it is not a lifetime ban.

The requirement is to attend every training day. Even with absences for unavoidable reasons that can be documented, at least 80% attendance is required. There is no 50% standard. E-learning courses also require completion of all training hours. No rule says that a make-up class guarantees payment.

People receiving the benefit, in principle, visit Hello Work once a month on a designated visit day set in advance and have a career consultation there. Hello Work actively supports trainees from the training period onward based on an employment support plan, so waiting until completion does not fit. Refusing Hello Work's job search support can lead to the benefit not being paid. Training exists to help people get jobs, so aiming for employment during training is expected.

The process is: register as a job seeker and have a career consultation at Hello Work, apply for the course, take the selection (an interview, a written test or similar), receive a training referral (受講あっせん) after passing, and then start. Going to Hello Work is the starting point. Training for job seekers is in principle tuition-free, and you do not apply by paying an enrollment fee to the school. Job seeker registration comes before the selection, not after. A referral from Hello Work is required, so simply showing up on the start date does not work.

Support continues for three months after completion (until the third designated visit day after completion). Everyone who completes the course submits an employment status report (就職状況報告書) within three months of completion, whether or not they found a job. So support does not all end at completion, and people who did not find a job must report too. The 100,000-yen monthly training allowance covers the training period; there is no rule that it continues for a year afterward.