Mitsubishi Corporation

HR Development

MC’s Basic Policy on HR Development

The individuals that make up our diverse and versatile talent pool consistently use their foresight, their aspirations, and their ability to anticipate future needs to tackle the challenge of finding solutions to societal challenges. We believe that this talent pool is our greatest asset and the very source of value creation at MC.

We continue to produce human resources with a management mindset and a commitment to increasing the value of the business by providing employees with opportunities to accumulate a variety of experience in stages through both on-the-job training (OJT) and off-the-job training (Off-JT) according to their career stage.
Specifically, we ensure that employees can steadily gain experience according to their career stage and gain the qualities that they will need to support the future success of MC, including leadership development and global experience. We also take steps to strengthen adaptability to changes in the business environment, including reskilling.

Promoting Career Autonomy

We respect the diverse work views and values of individuals and are expanding our efforts to support career autonomy, to ensure that our diverse and versatile talent pool feels a sense of satisfaction and pride in their work, and to continue to grow and play an active role while making use of their abilities to the fullest.

Growth Dialogues

With the goal of increasing the effectiveness of employees' autonomous growth, we conduct annual reviews focusing on employee skill development and career building, and provide opportunities for dialogue with supervisors.

Feedback Supporting Growth

Prior to Growth Dialogues, employees who lead certain organizations undergo a 360-degree management review from their superiors, subordinates, and colleagues, while other employees receive team feedback from their subordinates and colleagues. This provides opportunities for growth support leading to increased awareness and improvement of behavior.

Talent Review Program

MC has established a mechanism to encourage the development of employees' skills and careers through observation and assessment from multiple perspectives by sharing skill growth and career aspirations of employees confirmed through Growth Dialogues with a wider population.

Mechanisms that Encourage Career Autonomy

Based on individual career aspirations along with skills and qualities that employees want to develop in the future, MC will promote Career Choice System (open recruitment and transfer system to empower employees' transfer for the positions they wish to take on, Dual Career System (in-house dual work assignments system which provides opportunities for skill acquisition and growth), and Sabbatical Leave System (Educational Leave).

Human Resource Development Programs

MC leverages a wide variety of human resource development and training programs to focus on strengthening its ability to respond to changes in the business environment, both at home and abroad. These efforts include updating leadership to meet the needs of the times, diversity management to utilize the MC Group's diverse and multi-talented employees, improving IT literacy to further promote DX, and career autonomy.

FY2022 MC Group HRD Program Structure

* Additionally, employees have opportunities to attend external training programs outside MC.

New Employee Training

This training focuses on instilling employees with the knowledge, skills and other qualities demanded required of both working professionals in general and those employed by MC. We also implement programs that contribute to strengthening conceptual abilities for incorporating environmental and societal issues into business.

Business Basic Skill Program / Business Advanced Skill Program

This comprehensive, two-stage training program is designed to strengthen the basic skills of young employees who are in their first three years with MC, covering finance and accounting, bookkeeping, M&A operations, English-language proficiency, leadership and other areas. The first stage is the Business Basic Skill Program (BBS) and the second is the Business Advanced Skill Program (BAS).

Global Trainee Program

The purpose of this program is to rapidly develop and diversify young employees. To achieve this goal, MC utilizes its overseas assignment system so that all employees will, in principle, be provided with overseas experience at some point during their first eight years of employment. By exploring viewpoints and multifaceted perspectives that they would not encounter in Japan, trainees improve their conceptual capabilities and learn how to cooperate with diverse individuals in order to see a project through to completion.

  • Global Trainee Program (OJT)

    This program aims to further develop employees as businesspeople by having them experience on-the-job training in an environment different to Japan, such as at overseas MC offices or subsidiaries, etc. In order for them to become immersed in the local environment and learn as much as possible about their training country, trainees study the official language of the country both before and during their training.

  • Global Trainee Program (Regional)

    As business becomes more and more globalized, to develop projects that are deeply rooted in each country/region, it is very important to not only have business skills, but to also have a deep understanding of the respective countries or regions. Starting with acquiring language ability, in order to deepen knowledge about concerned countries/regions, 1.5 - 2-year language training and OJT is held in various countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Turkey, Brazil, etc.

  • Global Trainee Program (Business School)

    In order to develop human resources with a grasp of the most up-to-date business management methods and extensive problem-solving abilities, we dispatch trainees to business schools in Europe, America and Asia. After completing their training, they make use of their newly acquired knowledge and skills by working in various areas, such as contributing to the management of MC subsidiaries, etc.

Global Trainee Program

Innovators' Program

Run by MC with the support of professors from institutions including Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, and aims to nurture the conception skills necessary to grow business value. It is a good platform for learning about design thinking, data science, and other thought processes that inspire innovation, as well as the background and mechanisms behind the rapid growth of Silicon Valley enterprises.

Online Business School

Designed for employees that have been appointed to Management positions, this system enables participants to take online correspondence courses from top overseas universities. Participants are free to choose from a wide range of programs that cover topics such as leadership, strategy, and finance.

Executive Education in Overseas Business Schools

MC dispatches management level employees to short-term programs at top business schools in the US, Europe and Asia. These assignments are designed to build up employees' management skills and networks with other program participants from diverse cultures and industries.

MC Executives' Program

This program, which targets executive candidates, has been running since FY2003. Its core feature is its management- issues workshops, which involve discussions and presentations for VPs and other current executives on a variety of company's management issues. Lively opinion exchanges with the diversely experienced participants, lectures by internal and external business leaders, and other rich content make this program a good opportunity for executive candidates to broaden their perspectives, learn how high-level managers think and network with professionals from all of MC's Business Groups.

MC Leadership Program

Designed to equip participants with the leadership know-how and skills, diversity management, growth-support management, and performance management needed to support subordinates' career growth and otherwise manage organizations, the MC Leadership Program trains approximately 150 newly-posted Team Leader per year.

Instructor Training

MC appoints senior employees to act as instructors by giving them the responsibility of training new employees that join their workplace. These instructors are responsible for actively providing guidance on day-to-day operations and instructing and educating employees on the qualities necessary to be an MC employee. We provide instructors with training on how to guide new employees and support their growth so they can demonstrate their abilities immediately and progressively build relationships.

Programs to support autonomous growth

To provide employees with more opportunities for proactive learning and self-improvement, and thereby encourage “self-growth,” MC continues to enhance and upgrade its independent study programs. We have also introduced the Online Learning Platform that can be accessed by all employees, creating an environment that allows people to freely select and learn from a variety of educational courses. This was done in order to help employees adapt to changes in the business environment, as well as to expand the number of learning opportunities that can be tailored to meet the needs of a diverse array of individuals.

Online Training Platform

To support the improvement of individual abilities/skills through independent study while also allowing for the diversification, updating and optimization of training contents, MC offers a training platform where a wide range of content can be studied online. In addition to approximately 13,000 pieces of existing content, the platform also contains over 90 videos covering internal company topics.

Career Vision Training

MC utilizes its personnel system and various other means in order to integrate employee development with corporate growth. We recognize that a vital part of employee development is a strong personal desire to achieve autonomous growth, and therefore began providing a Career Vision Training course via e-learning. Career Vision Training aims to teach participants how to reflect on their careers in a way that will help them to continue to grow autonomously, visualize their own talents, and produce results by formulating and implementing action plans designed to realize their career visions.

MC Skill-up Seminar

MC offers a number of courses to foster skills and abilities that connect to development of expertise, foresight and execution skills.

MC Self-Development Program

This program is designed to equip employees with useful management, business and language expertise. MC encourages employees to take a selection of designated courses.

Competency Development Support Program

This program encourages self-growth and the kind of commitment to raising business value that is typically demonstrated by those in upper management. MC helps employees to take courses that are considered suitable for those in the "Frontline Professionals" stage of their careers.

DX Reskill Program

To further accelerate DX, MC is rolling out training according to each employee's level so that they can acquire the digital knowledge they need. In addition to programming training and web service development workshops for employees in charge of implementing new businesses and DX promotion and training program aimed at project managers to understand the whole picture from the planning and conception to the development of business development and business operational improvement projects, MC provides mandatory courses aimed at improving IT and digital literacy for all employees, as well as other courses that cater to individual skill level.

IT & Digital Literacy Program for All MC Employees

As part of its efforts to promote DX and reskill employees so that the company can better respond to change, MC provides the MC DX Advancement Program, an on-demand training program to help all MC employees gradually acquire IT and digital literacy in a well-balanced manner according to their individual level. This program provides approximately 70 hours of training on subjects such as data design and DX project management, and its 16 courses are offered to all MC employees.

MC Innovation Lab (MIL)

MC provides a program for employees involved in new or digital business, where they develop a web service while taking courses related to programming or business development. Results are judged in a contest format, and some are even moving towards being made into actual businesses.

IT and Digital Issue Courses for Management

MC provides training courses on DX and IT utilization to its management with the aim of helping them make proper decisions and give appropriate advice to their subordinates. These courses are designed to deepen management's understanding of a variety of topics, including the leadership characteristics needed in the DX era when introducing new technologies, appropriate communication methods, the timing of decision-making, and points to consider when making decisions.

MC Group Values

To comprehensively strengthen its consolidated workforce of approx 80,000 global professionals, MC is dedicated to sharing values and building robust networks throughout the MC Group.

MC Group Gateway Program

Since FY2010, the MC Group Gateway Program has been conducted as an orientation program for employees of MC's offices and group companies worldwide. Held in Tokyo in both Japanese and English, the program's objectives are to encourage employees to share MC's corporate principles and values, and to foster a greater understanding of the MC Group. Approximately 4,900 people have participated in the program since its inception. Similar orientation programs to share MC Group values are being held in other regions.

【Reference Data】

Overview of MC's Training (non-consolidated basis, FY2023)

No. of training participants per year1  *1 5,432 participants
Total number of annual training hours  *2 13.6 hours
Total cost of education/training  *3 2.59 billion yen
Cost of training per employee  *4 479 thousand yen
  • *1:Training run by MC Global HR Dept. only (doesn't include overseas assignments)
  • *2:Total number of training hours divided by the total number of employees Doesn't include time spent using company provided online training platform for self-development
  • *3:Training costs + billings for training related services, etc. from external training institutions
  • *4:Total raining costs + billings for training related services, etc. from external training institutions divided by the total number of employees

Number of participants & training hours for each training program (excerpt from some training programs organized by the Global HR Dept. at Head Office, FY2023)

Name Target audience Number of participants Training hours (in hours)
Business Management Program Ⅰ Employees involved in business management at operating companies in Japan and overseas 63 12.5
Business Management Program Ⅱ Employees involved in business management as executives at operating companies in Japan and overseas 88 12.5
Innovators' Program Employees who are expected to play roles in project design, digital strategies, new business planning, etc. 48 30.5
MC Leadership Program Newly appointed internal organization managers (team leaders, etc.) 104 28
Online Business School Employees promoted to a management position 105 Average: 39.8
New Manager Training Employees promoted to a management position 163 14.5
Instructor Training Instructors (in charge of providing guidance to new employees) 146 21
Career Vision Training Employees in their 6th year after joining the company 129 2.5
Business Advanced Skill Program Employees in their 3rd year after joining the company 135 69
New Employee Training Employees in their 1st year after joining the company 127 145.5
Career Design Employees aged 48 or older 1,887 27 *1
Assistant Career Vision Training Secretarial Staff 12 8
Online self-learning platform(Udemy) All employees Number of registrants: 5,350 Average viewing time: 5.6
MC Skill-up Seminar All employees (free application to each course) 596 Average: 4.5 *2
  • *1:Standard attendance hours for general employees serving as managers
  • *2:Average time for all 13 course

Optimizing Human Resource Placement through Talent Visualization

Visualization of duties and talent

Approximately 700 people with a wide-range of experiences made possible by MC hold key positions and perform vital roles* on a consolidated basis. Through those roles, which include business management activities in various regions and at sites and Group Companies in Japan and overseas, these people contribute to the realization of management strategies, such as the Value-Added Cyclical Growth Model and the integration of EX and DX initiatives. We have prioritized the visualization of these extremely important and challenging duties and the talent needed to perform them as the basis for a matching process designed to promote the placement of the right people to the right positions.
* Including Officers, Division COOs and General Managers of MC, heads of business sites in Japan and overseas, as well as management executives of MC Group companies for which our employees are responsible.

Visualization of talent and utilization of data

We have equipped an HR subsidiary with the capacity to visualize the talent required for key positions and created a team of seven full-time assessors with backgrounds at MC to drive the visualization process. These assessors carry out individual interviews and provide interviewees with personalized feedback and dialogue based on various data, such as aptitude test results. To date, approximately 350 interviews have been completed. We will continue to pursue this process with the aim of matching people with tasks based on their abilities and motivation, regardless of age or gender. The resulting data resources will also be analyzed and used to develop the next-generation of leaders as well.

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