Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

Japan is currently preparing to launch a new employment support service called the Employment Choice Support Service. To launch this, it is necessary to understand the issues and other aspects of the vocational assessment system that will be the way forward for this service. Therefore, in this study, a national survey was conducted on the actual implementation of vocational assessment. An online survey of 4,096 employment transition support offices in Japan was conducted. The results were compiled into a basic tally, and a qualitative analysis was conducted on the descriptive data. The study revealed a lack of knowledge and skills in employment support workers responsible for vocational assessment. It also revealed that there are challenges in the readiness of employment transition support offices for assessment, and that assessment procedures have become formalized and are not being used for planning and support. For future development of the service, it is necessary to support the acquisition of knowledge and skills in individuals involved. The results showed that it is effective to implement this in context of multi-agency collaboration in the community.

Keywords: Japan, employment transition support, vocational rehabilitation, self-determination, employment choice support