German JETAA Chairman Sven Traschewski
Japan Local Government Centre (JLGC) held an ‘Employing JETs’ Seminar in Düsseldorf’s Nikko Hotel, at the end of February attended by a variety of German company representatives and Japanese employers in the wider federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and from as far as Berlin. It was an opportunity for Japanese employers and German representatives in Germany to hear about the skills JETs learn, together with former JETs looking to work in Japan related employment in Germany.
The 30th year anniversary of the JET Programme is being celebrated in 2017, and with an increasing focus on post-JET links in business and citizen’s diplomacy this event explained how participants use their experience for work, with contributors from companies who employ people who have been on the JET Programme, as well as former JETs employed by them. It was also a great opportunity for alumni to network with representatives of Japanese businesses in Germany and German professionals working with Japan. Companies who attended included Marubeni, Kowa Optimed, Japan Airlines Limited, Tokai Electronics, Mizuho Bank, Toshiba Europe, as well as representatives from the City of Düsseldorf and Deutsch-Japanischer Wirtschaftskreis (DJW: German-Japanese Business Association). The JET Programme over the last 30 years has employed over 10,000 UK graduates, and has a global alumni community of over 60,000.
The event was opened by JLGC London Director Mr Kazuya Shima who gave an overview of JLGC’s activities in CLAIR Tokyo’s (our parent office in Japan) role in managing the JET Programme. Our speakers included former JETs starting with Mr Sven Traschewski, Project Manager for Exchange Programs and Conferences at German-Japanese Center Berlin (JDZB) and current chairman of German JETAA, who gave an overview of the activities and makeup of the recently re-established alumni chapter in Germany, which also represents former JETs in Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.
Ms Andrea Tischer who is a projects and HR manager at Marubeni Europe and Ms Laura Johnen now a Travel Consultant at Japan Travel Centre GmbH, both former Coordinators for International Relations, spoke about their post-JET experiences in work after their time in Japan. Also presenting on the benefits of employing JETs was Ms Tomoko Tanaka, Team Manager at Security Research Labs in Berlin.
Reception at the end of the evening
The evening ended with a networking reception where attendees were able to exchange views on the merits of working Japan-German environment and otherwise and connect professionally, while sampling Japanese sake and sushi.
Many thanks to Sven, Andrea, Laura and Tomoko for taking the time out of their busy schedules to take part in the event, as well as to the Consulate General of Japan in Düsseldorf, JETRO Düsseldorf and DJW for all their support and assistance in organising this event.
