(2) Enhancement of Human Resources and Intellectual Foundations for Development Cooperation
The Government of Japan has set a target of 1,000 Japanese staff working in UN-related organizations by the year 2025. In order to achieve this target, Japan is cooperating with universities, Japanese offices of international organizations, and relevant government ministries and agencies, while proactively seeking out, training, and supporting human resources with the capacity to be active and to contribute on the world stage. Furthermore, based on one of the recommendations made by the Advisory Board for ODA “Develop human resources for development cooperation,” MOFA is engaged in PR to assist in finding human resources, with efforts such as providing guidance to explain the employment systems of international organizations, both in Japan and abroad, as well as holding career information sessions where explanations are given by executives and HR managers from international organizations visiting Japan.
Ms. KIMURA Makiha working at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Kinshasa office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after participating in the Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development and the JPO Programme (see “Stories from the Field” for details) (Photo: UNICEF)
Moreover, MOFA conducts the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme, which sends young Japanese nationals who aspire to work in international organizations as regular staff for two years in principle to gain necessary knowledge and experience in international organizations and attain a regular staff position after their tenure. As such, MOFA strives to nurture human resources to be active in international organizations, including in the area of development cooperation. This programme has been implemented since 1974, and a cumulative total of approximately 1,700 people have been sent, 55 of whom were sent in FY2018. In addition, in FY2015, MOFA expanded its existing program as the “Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development,” with the purpose of finding and fostering human resources in the field of peacebuilding and development, and developing their careers in a comprehensive manner (see “Human Resources Development for Peacebuilding” for details).
In addition, JICA provides recruitment information related to international cooperation, human resources registration services, information on various trainings and seminars, career counseling, and other services on the PARTNER (Participatory Network for Expert Recruitment)(Note8) website, aiming to provide more opportunities to people who have specialized knowledge and diverse experiences at ministries and agencies, JICA, NGOs and international organizations. Moreover, since 1997, JICA has offered internships to graduate students and other individuals who conduct research closely related to development cooperation and are willing to play an active role in this field in the future. In FY2018, 101 interns were accepted at various workplaces, including the worksites of development consultants. Based on the recommendations of the Second Consultative Committee on ODA Reform in 2002, JICA secures human resources with a high degree of professional abilities and abundant work experience in developing countries through the Senior Advisor System, as well as offers the Associate Experts Program and the Capacity Enhancement Training to foster international cooperation professionals.
Furthermore, the JICA Research Institute conducts policy research based on actual experience in development cooperation using internationally recognized methodologies, while providing its research outcomes and recommendations to the governments of developing countries and the donor communities in international development.
The Government of Japan will work with universities and research institutions, and strive to reinforce the intellectual foundations to plan and disseminate development cooperation activities by promoting joint policy research and intellectual networking among researchers from Japan and developing countries, while utilizing Japan’s strengths.
- Note 8: Please refer to the following link for more information.
International Cooperation Career Information Website “PARTNER”: https://partner.jica.go.jp/