The future Idemitsu is heading for is shaped by each and every employee. We are holding a Job Festival to encourage employees to learn about and think about the various jobs available within the company and to take the initiative in developing their own careers!

When you hear "Job Festival," you may think of it as a place where companies that are recruiting set up booths to promote their companies to job seekers, but Idemitsu Kosan holds it for its employees. Idemitsu Kosan, which handles a variety of businesses, has many departments and many employees working not only in Japan but also at overseas bases. However, employees may be so busy with their daily work that they do not fully understand the work of other departments, and they may lose contact with employees outside their own department.

To address this issue, the Human Resources Department launched the Job Festival, which aims to "learn about the diverse jobs available within the company and encourage interaction among employees within the company." This year marks the third time the event has been held.

The oil industry is undergoing a period of great change, making it very difficult to predict the future business environment. That is why, no matter what the future holds, no matter what difficulties we face, if our employees are well-developed, they will be able to pave the way and move forward. Idemitsu Kosan believes this and is focusing on supporting employees' independent career development. The "Job Festival" focuses on "knowing the company's business," which is essential for employees to think independently about their careers.

The first time, there were 500 participants, but last year the number grew to 1,000. This year, the number of employees exceeded that number, the highest number ever, and the event ended with great success. This year, 50 departments participated, and the overseas department also gave a video presentation on their business. At the reception, a booklet was distributed that briefly summarized the appealing points of each department, such as engagement of their work, and employees walked around the booths with the booklet in hand.

This year, the event will be held in double the space!

Career Design Department was established in April 2024. "We believe that 'career' is not limited to the framework of work, but is 'life itself.' We believe that each employee having choices in their own life and choosing according to their own will is 'living happily,' and will contribute to the strength of the Idemitsu Group," said the person in charge. Career Design Department has prepared a number of support menus to help employees find the ideal image of themselves, and actively promoted them using pamphlets that they created themselves.

Career Design Department staff (left) Career Design Department booklet (right)
Hints for reexamining your own way of life are introduced along with personal experiences.

Idemitsu Employee Association which was established in July 2024, also exhibited a booth and worked hard to explain the details of the initiative. "Since awareness within the company is still low, we made a conscious effort to increase visibility so that people would stop by our booth. We're all wearing matching T-shirts to get the message across!" said the person in charge with a smile. "Even before the Employee Association was established, there were opportunities to dialogue with management, but there were limits to how much each employee could convey their voice to management. The Employee Association is an organization established outside the company with dedicated members. Our strength is that we can pick up the voices of employees and convey them to management," he said.

* Regarding the establishment of Career Design Department and Idemitsu Employee Association (dated February 27, 2023)

A smiling representative from Idemitsu Employee Association wearing matching T-shirts
The T-shirts are eye-catching and have been very well received.

Participating employees commented, "It was good to learn about the work in a department I would like to try someday," and "It's difficult for others to understand our work, so the opportunity to explain it face-to-face was invaluable."

The third event was a huge success, as it combined the desire to learn about the business of other departments and the desire for employees of other departments to learn about their own businesses.

In November 2022, Idemitsu Kosan announced Medium-term Management Plan and Vision for 2050 "Shaping Change," with a view to realizing a carbon-neutral, recycling-oriented society by 2050. In the plan, the company announced that it would invest in both business structure reforms and human capital. It is each and every employee who will realize the reform of the business structure, and to achieve this, it is essential to form a robust human resource group.

The Human Resources Department has organized the career development of employees into three steps: "Knowing yourself and Idemitsu," "Thinking about your career," and "Taking action," and has begun to fully support career development. However, in the year in which the company was about to embark on the biggest transformation of its business structure since its founding toward Vision for 2050, one issue emerged. In a survey on job engagement, it was found that the scores for "Can you envision your career at Idemitsu Kosan in the future?" were relatively low.

When they solicited opinions on the personnel system based on the results of the survey, they received a large number of responses saying, "I want to know what kind of work is available at the Idemitsu Group." Ironically, they found that "knowing the company and yourself," which they positioned as the first step in career development, was a very big need among employees. Then, just two months after soliciting employee opinions, they held the "First Job Festival" to provide employees with an opportunity to "know Idemitsu."

This year marked the third time the Job Festival was held. The purpose of the event, "to learn about our company's business," has steadily taken root, with Complex even holding their own events. "As our manufacturing Complex employs a high proportion of local people, and many employees build their careers within Complex, I heard that Tokuyama Complex (Yamaguchi Prefecture) held a 'Tokuyama version of Job Fest' to help employees deepen their understanding of their workplace. I was glad that this activity resonated with them," says Chino, the person in charge.

Idemitsu Kosan has just begun its challenge to "Shaping Change." We believe that the future of Idemitsu Kosan lies in each employee independently building their career while demonstrating their individuality and capabilities.