The only growing industry in Japan?
June 11th, 20:11, approaching the unknown "consulting industry"
"There are not enough people even in the corona disaster. The number of hires is increasing."
"The only growing industry in Japan today. It has expanded explosively in the 2010s."
So-called "career bureaucrats" aspirants
are increasing
year by year. While the number is decreasing, the "consulting industry" occupies most of the top rankings in the job hunting popularity rankings of the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University students.
We explored the unknown reality and the background of the rapid expansion of the "consulting industry," which is deeply involved in the management strategies of large companies and the policy making of government agencies.
(Social Affairs Department Reporter Yoshinami Hashimoto Hiroki Moriya Maki Hirayama)
Change to job hunting ranking
This month, the job hunting popularity ranking of 2023 graduates of the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University announced by the job hunting word-of-mouth website.
The "consulting industry" accounts for half of the top 10 companies.
According to the companies surveyed, this trend has been going on for at least a few years, and its popularity is increasing year by year.
Why is the "consulting industry" so popular as the percentage of students who pass the so-called "career bureaucracy" exam is declining significantly?
We talked to the editorial department of the University of Tokyo newspaper, which covers the trends in job hunting activities of the University of Tokyo students.
Mr. Takahashi Mr. Eto
"I think that there are few students in the liberal arts of the University of Tokyo who do not consider consulting. The value that it is cool to be a bureaucrat is not understood, and in the job hunting activities of the University of Tokyo students, consulting =" Torikon "for the time being There is also a will "word
once for" consulting the University of Tokyo students, have become the choice should be confirmed as a course, there are familiar to those who chose to employment also. of lifetime employment and seniority, such as traditional Japanese corporate culture I don't think there is any more value that is good. "
What is the "consulting industry"?
"Consulting" is an abbreviation for consultant.
Translated literally, it is a "consultant."
About 100 years ago, American engineer Frederick Taylor devised a "scientific management method" to increase the productivity of factories and supported the introduction to factories, which is said to be the beginning of the consulting business.
Customers (= clients) are mainly large companies, and serve as "consultants" for the management team, propose medium- to long-term management strategies, and support business reforms such as human resources and sales.
In some cases, it is involved in policy making by central government agencies and local governments.
In general,
▼ "strategic system" that mainly proposes management strategies to the management team of large companies
▼ In addition to proposals for management strategies, business reforms and systems of large companies "Comprehensive system" that handles a wide range of operations until introduction
▼ So-called think tanks are
classified into
"think tank systems" that handle consulting work
.
In addition, there are various scopes and scales of consulting such as "IT" and "Human Resources", and there is no clear definition.
One of the features is that there are few listed companies, the information to be disclosed is limited, and it is difficult to see the actual activity from the outside.
Why now in the consulting industry?
What attracts students to the consulting industry?
A representative of a recruitment company who is familiar with the circumstances of changing jobs in the industry explains that the content of work and the high compensation are factors that attract highly educated young people.
President Watanabe
"Consulting companies formulate business strategies and market strategies from the perspective of management and solve problems, but ordinary business companies are not involved in such work from a young age. New graduates and foreign-affiliated strategic firms If you enter and become a manager, you will be around 30 years old and your annual income will be about 20 million. After working in the consulting industry, the possibility of being appointed as an executive of various companies is also a big attraction. I'm
We graduated from the University of Tokyo graduate school and considered career bureaucrats, but we were able to hear from a man in his thirties who got a job in the "consulting industry."
A man who graduated from the University of Tokyo and got a job in the "consulting industry"
"Government offices have a role to create laws and systems and implement policies, but surveys and research for policy proposals are often outsourced to consulting. You can feel the dynamism of national-level decision-making by attending, but there are many chores among young people. If you become a director in your 50s, you may see a different view, but that is a long time. Consulting is human resources That's all, so I'm investing more in human resource development than in a normal company, and they provide me with opportunities for growth. "
The representative of the recruitment company points out that the company's demand for the human resources and know-how of the consulting company is also supporting the rapid expansion of the industry.
President Watanabe
"The current consulting industry is completely understaffed. Hiring stopped for a moment due to the corona sickness, but the current hiring rate is higher than before Corona. After all, Japanese companies now have good existing businesses. You can't survive unless you start a new business or start an M & A in a dangerous situation. You have to deal with digitalization. However, there are no professionals in the company. Every company is becoming more serious. I am outsourcing this kind of work to a consulting company. "
Some companies have tripled the number of employees in 6 years!
Accenture is rapidly expanding its scale and attracting attention in the industry.
The number of employees of a Japanese corporation, which is a major foreign-affiliated consulting company called "comprehensive", has more than tripled to about 16,000 in just over six years.
Many other major players in the industry have also increased their workforce significantly over the last few years.
Accenture's president, Masashi Egawa, interviewed NHK, said that behind the rapid expansion of scale is the need of society to urgently respond to DX = digital transformation.
President Egawa
"Around 2015, when I became president, the digital field was less than 5% of the business. However, in the digital field, I think that it will become the mainstream in Japan as a whole in a few years. We started reforms with the goal of becoming Japan's number one. Now it has grown to over 70%. "
In recent years, Accenture has participated in technological development aimed at realizing the government's "smart city concept," which aims to solve regional issues with cutting-edge technology.
It supports the strengthening of the digital domain of large companies by announcing the establishment of new companies jointly funded by "Kansai Electric Power", "Sumitomo Chemical" and "Shiseido" one after another.
The financial results of the Japanese corporation alone are not disclosed, but sales are growing at about the same pace as the number of employees.
President Egawa
"If you want to do digital, you need human resources not only for engineers but also for designers and marketing in about 30 fields, and diverse human resources such as women, foreigners, and arts are indispensable. We can handle each field. We cannot meet the needs of many customers at the same time unless we gather 100 or 200 employees instead of 10, and we will eventually want a company that fills the "human resources gap" in the future. I think it is a social contribution to prepare human resources who will be proactive. "
The rapidly expanding "consulting industry" and "change of job" are commonplace
The consulting industry is expanding rapidly in Japanese society, driven by the popularity of students and the needs of large companies.
In fact, it has a major feature that sets it apart from traditional Japanese companies that have emphasized "lifetime employment" and "seniority system."
That is the number of "changes of job".
According to a survey, the number of people who have changed jobs in the consulting industry is increasing to the point of corona.
In the consulting industry, it is said that there are many transfers within the industry and job changes to other industries.
What is in the background?
We talked to a career change agent specializing in the consulting industry.
Movin Strategic Career
Kurusu Parent Partner & Managing Director
"The turnover rate in the consulting industry is higher than that of general Japanese business companies. There is no Japanese uneven social thinking in the industry, and individual careers are respected. If there is something else you want to do, you will leave the company. Some people will change jobs to a fund or a business company in a few years with consulting as one step. Even in the same consulting industry, seeking an environment where you can do what you want to do and good treatment It's not uncommon for a subordinate to follow along with a job change or a boss's transfer. "
In some cases, it may develop into a "change of job" or "pulling out" or a proceeding.
In the consulting industry, where "change of job" has been taken for granted, there is a trial that is now secretly attracting attention.
The parties are ▼ "Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting" (hereinafter "Deloitte"), a major "comprehensive" company, and ▼ Former who retired from Deloitte three years ago and transferred to rival "EY Strategy and Consulting" (hereinafter "EY"). Executives.
Deloitte has filed a lawsuit against former executives for damages of more than 100 million yen, saying that the reason why several employees who were subordinates of former executives changed jobs to EY was "due to illegal pulling work". That's right.
Former executives who were partners (executive officers) transferred to EY at about the same time that top management, who had been the representative of Deloitte for nearly 10 years, transferred to EY.
Deloitte insisted, "Before retirement, former executives worked to weaken the company by soliciting job changes from their former subordinates. They also violated their duty of loyalty to the company as a partner."
On the other hand, a former executive said, "I have told my former subordinates that I want to retire and consulted about how to move, but I have not been involved in the decision-making for hiring EY. Illegal acts are committed. There is no such thing. "
In the consulting industry, it is unusual for such troubles to turn into proceedings, and trials are still ongoing.
"Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting" commented on NHK's interview as follows.
"While the'freedom of choice of profession'is guaranteed, I will not deny changing jobs, but I judged that the defendant's withdrawal act was malicious and betrayal. I think it makes sense to clarify. "
The president of EY, who transferred from Deloitte himself.
President Kondo:
"Changing jobs is commonplace in the industry, and when I was the head of Deloitte, I decided that there was no need to put pressure on retirees or file proceedings. This time too, the scope of" freedom to change jobs " I don't think it's illegal within the company. If the proceedings against job changers become commonplace, the entire industry will shrink and talented people will not be able to gather. "
Challenges for the fast-growing industry
It is estimated that the size of the adult market in the consulting industry will increase by about 7% from the previous year and reach 1 trillion yen in three years.
How do internal workers and intellectuals view the future outlook and challenges of the consulting industry?
A senior consultant in his thirties who works for a consulting company
"I am concerned that if the number of people continues to increase and competition progresses, the unit price of labor costs may fall and the quality of consultants may not be maintained. What happens to a large number of hired human resources if digitalization progresses further and AI can solve problems? To work in this industry, establish “individuals” and have knowledge and technology with a vision. I think we need to improve. "
A former bureaucrat of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and a social policy expert points out that the expansion of the consulting industry may affect the way companies and governments manage information.
Professor Nakano
"I think that the situation where companies and government offices rely heavily on highly specialized consulting, especially in the digital field, will continue in the future. It is not a problem now, but the mobility of human resources such as changing jobs is If the weight of high consulting becomes even higher, I think there will be more occasions to discuss information management and confidentiality obligations in the future. "
He points out that in the field of administration, the role that bureaucrats should play will be questioned again.
Professor Nakano
"If the tendency of excellent human resources to aim for consulting continues, there is a possibility that the bureaucrats who use the consulting will be used in reverse. There are many similarities between the bureaucrats and the consulting work, but the people It is the bureaucrats who work as ministers. From a public perspective, I think it will be an era when bureaucrats can properly control consulting. "
Pay attention to future trends
The "consulting industry" that supports the activities of large companies and government agencies from behind the scenes.
The definition is ambiguous, and we rarely become aware of its existence in our interviews and in our daily lives.
However, its influence has steadily increased, and it has become clear that the "mechanism of Japanese society" itself, which has been following the war, is being changed.
What kind of relationships will human resources working in the “consulting industry” have with Japanese companies and bureaucrats who face a mountain of challenges, and how will they change our lives?
I would like to keep an eye on the trends and continue to cover them.
Social section reporter
Hashimoto KeiNami
2010. joined
Otsu stations, social part Yugun charge through the Kobe stations
Reporter of the Social Affairs Department
Hiroki Moriya
Joined in 2012
After working at the Sendai Bureau and Kesennuma Branch, he was in charge of the Social Affairs Department Judiciary.
Reporter of Social Affairs Department
Maki Hirayama
Joined in 2015
After working at Sendai Bureau and Ishinomaki Branch, in charge of justice of Social Affairs Department