11 Food and Beverage Companies Collaborate to Support Hokkaido's Future: Launch of 'FOOD CAREER HOKKAIDO'

Eleven companies (in no particular order), including Nippon Beet Sugar Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Calbee, Inc., Calbee Potato, Inc., Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Shinseien Co., Ltd., NH Foods Ltd., Nippon White Farm Co., Ltd., Nippon Food Packer, Inc., Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, Megmilk Snow Brand Co., Ltd., and Yotsuba Milk Products Co., Ltd., have collaborated to launch the FOOD CAREER HOKKAIDO alliance.

Faced with challenges such as population decline and labor shortages, this alliance aims to convey the appeal and social significance of jobs that support the 'food' industry to the next generation through joint recruitment and talent development initiatives.

Background of Establishment

Hokkaido, with its abundant nature and vast land, plays a significant role in producing and manufacturing essential foods as a region that supports food supply.

Meanwhile, Japan's food self-sufficiency rate remains low at 38%, making its maintenance and improvement a national issue.

Furthermore, in Hokkaido, severe labor shortages are occurring across the food-related industries due to the outflow of the younger generation. In response, companies and organizations based in Hokkaido, deeply involved in the 'food' field from raw material procurement to production and manufacturing, have gathered beyond individual corporate boundaries to address common issues and take concrete actions.

As a first step, the alliance has begun recruitment activities for high school, university, and vocational school students nationwide.

Planned Recruitment Activities

- Joint job fairs to convey the appeal of working in Hokkaido (for high school students, university students, and the general public) - Career classes conducted by participating companies and organizations for high school students outside Hokkaido - Strengthening the recruitment of technical personnel essential for supporting the food and agricultural sectors

*Participation in each initiative is at the discretion of each participating company or organization, and not all companies will participate in all initiatives uniformly.