“Corona changed my life” High school students suffering from job hunting October 28, 20:33

I had a job that I had always admired.

However, this summer in my third year of high school, I was forced to change my course.

"Corona changed my life."

"I searched for a job to the last minute."

Still, the students are strong and moving forward.

(Aomori Broadcasting Station reporter Akinori Yoshimoto)

Dreams are jobs that support weddings

A girl student who wanted to get a job in the bridal business goes to a prefectural high school in Towada City, Aomori Prefecture.

Towada City has one of the prefecture's leading tourist destinations, the Oirase Gorge, and the department in which female students are enrolled is the tourism department.

When I was in the second grade, I started to imagine the type of industry I wanted to work in, such as volunteering to guide tourists.

What I was interested in was the "bridal industry."

I happened to see a video on the internet and was fascinated by the work of gently celebrating and supporting the smiling bride and groom with stage sleeves.

Female student

"I thought that working would help my parents, so I wanted to get a job from the beginning. I wanted to leave Aomori prefecture and go to Kanto to work in order to get independent quickly."

Find a job to the last minute

The situation changed significantly in the spring of my third year.

The infection of the new coronavirus has spread.

Infected people came one after another in Tokyo and other places, and after consulting with my parents, I decided to work in Aomori prefecture.

Last year there was a job offer for the bridal industry in the prefecture, but there were few things.

"It's a shame, but I can't help it." I

gave up on the bridal business and reconsidered the accommodation business.

I thought that there were relatively many opportunities to get involved in weddings.

But there were few job offers.

This year's recruitment test starts on October 16th, which is one month later than usual.

Even so, my aspirations did not settle, and I was impatient at the approaching time.

Girls

"impatient and looking, is said that it is better to look for more to show Job slip to parents were looking up. The last minute."

Work to witness important scenes in life

At that time, I noticed a job offer for the funeral business.

I remember being taken care of at the funeral of my great-grandfather.

"It's a job to witness the important scenes of life." At the

end of the summer vacation, I decided to aim for a funeral business.

In late September, when I interviewed a girl student, I asked a question that I was really interested in.

"Do you ever think that you don't have a corona?"

"Corona ..." After a breath, he continued.

Girl student

"I can't do it myself. I think I made a convincing decision. I'm organized. Now I want to concentrate on getting a job offer and spend my school life."

Change from employment to going on to higher education

"There are schools where many students have abandoned employment and changed their course to higher education."

I heard an interesting story during the interview I started in August and headed to Aomori Commercial High School in Aomori City.

Gaku Tanimura, a teacher of the Career Guidance Department who responded, first showed me a part of the file that bundled the job vacancies.

The file is about half the thickness of last year.

It speaks to the rigors faced by high school students.

Due to the influence of the coronavirus, 20% of the students who wanted to get a job changed their course from employment to going on to higher education.

One of them, Mr. Ryusei Kudo of the Department of Commerce, told me a story.

Mr. Kudo decided to get a job after graduating from the time he entered the commercial department.

The profession I longed for was a hotel man.

When I was a junior high school student, I had a longing to see a hotel man who responded flexibly to students at the hotel where I stayed on a school trip.

While raising expectations, I was also staring at the company that took the exam after seeing the job offer of the previous year.

However, the situation changed completely with the new coronavirus.

Mr. Kudo

"I was very disappointed that there were no job offers in or outside the prefecture and I couldn't find what I wanted."

I searched for other industries, but it didn't look right.

I think it's better to study more and deepen your management knowledge before working, rather than getting a job you don't want.

I consulted with my parents.

At first I was advised to get a job, but in the end I agreed with each other and decided to go on to university.

It was around July.

Part-time job 5 days a week for tuition

On the other hand, I was worried about how to handle the tuition fees.

Mr. Kudo got permission from the school and decided to work part-time during the summer vacation.

I saved money by doing sorting work in the warehouse five days a week.

I decided to apply for both benefit-type and loan-type scholarships.

All tuition fees can be difficult, but I want to cover as much as I can.

As the second son of five siblings, I don't want to struggle with the three younger siblings.

Mr. Kudo is currently practicing essays for the exam recommended by a university designated school in Aomori City in November.

While struggling with unfamiliar essays, I am advancing toward new goals.

Mr. Kudo

"My life has changed due to the influence of the new coronavirus. I am worried. I want to study properly as a university student and become a person who can pursue my dreams."

High school job vacancies have dropped significantly

How much has the number of high school job vacancies decreased?

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the ratio of job offers to applicants for high school students who graduate next spring and wish to find employment is 2.08 times on average nationwide as of the end of July.

It was 0.44 points below the same period last year.

This is the decline since 2010, when the effects of the Lehman shock continued.

In particular, Aomori prefecture is 1.13 times the lowest in Japan after Okinawa prefecture.

The number of job offers from companies in Aomori Prefecture was 3,470 as of the end of August, a decrease of nearly a quarter from the same period last year.

In the “accommodation industry,” which has a serious impact, it fell by more than 80%.

The “food service industry” has decreased by more than 60%, and the “manufacturing industry” has decreased by about 40%, showing severe numbers.

The number of students who changed their aspirations or switched to higher education is unknown because no survey has been conducted, but through this interview, I felt that there are not a few such students.

Report of smile

October 23rd.

This time, I received an e-mail from the teacher in charge of career guidance for female students in Towada City, who I interviewed.

The content was that a girl student received a job offer from a funeral company who took the exam.

The students were completely relieved of their tense feelings and reported to the teacher with a smile that they had accepted.

It was a heartfelt relieved news.

Through interviews ...

A big turning point in life.

From every word of the students, the anguish of being forced to change course was conveyed.

There are about 160,000 high school students nationwide who want to get a job next spring.

There are also secondary and tertiary job hunting for high school students.

Entrance exams for universities, etc. will also begin.

I want you to prepare well and realize your thoughts.

I would like to continue to cover it in the future.

Aomori Broadcasting Station Reporter

Akinori Yoshimoto

Joined in 2012 After working at the Kumamoto Bureau and Misawa Branch, he is currently covering labor and educational issues.