This year, the JET Alumni Association co-organised an online Careers Fair for JET Returnees together with the Japan Local Government Centre and the Embassy of Japan in the UK. The online Careers Fair took place on the 23rd October, 11am – 4pm (BST), using the online event platform Whova. All JET alumni invited who attended were interested either as a job seeker, regardless of when they came back from Japan, or as a mentor to share their work experience and expertise. Any company wanting to have a free booth to recruit talented JET alumni was also welcome.
Participants registered for the event can still connect and network with JET Returnees, speakers and exhibitors using the event platform’s Community Board using the app downloaded to navigate the event.
The panels discussions and breakout sessions were recorded and can be seen on the JETAA UK website here (speaker details below the videos, JETAA UK online membership needed to view videos).
The event provided the opportunity for former JETs to receive key advice and insight on the post-JET experience and job opportunities around the UK, as well as network with professionals from a wide range of industries. It is always a well-attended event, with the majority of the attendees being newly returned JETs who are seeking employment or further education. It was also open to any JET alumni to attend, and as a 30-year-old government-run programme, the alumni chapters often reconnect with interesting alumni of various backgrounds.
The JET Programme was started in 1987 with the purpose of increasing mutual understanding between the people of Japan and the people of other nations. It aims to promote internationalisation in Japan’s local communities by helping to improve foreign language education and developing international exchange at the community level. The Programme is managed by CLAIR Tokyo HQ while JLGC supports alumni chapters in Europe and recruitment by the Embassy of Japan. Over the past 35 years, it has seen significant growth, from its original 848 participants from four countries in 1987, to 5,761 participants from 57 countries at present.
There are currently approximately 1,000 local government organisations, including 45 prefectures and 18 designated cities that host JET participants.
The UK alumni community is fortunate enough to have a strong membership group in the UK from both Japanese and non-Japanese companies, the public sector and start-ups who spoke on panels and in discussion groups to share their experience and offer advice. The sessions and panels aimed to address the current employment climate and key aspects of job-hunting as a newly returned JET, as well as how to keep non-work connections with Japan.
There was also a virtual exhibitors area where organisations and companies were able to showcase themselves and could actively tap into the pool of talented and diverse individuals that make up the JET alumni community. Both JETAA UK and JLGC hoped for an even bigger turnout than previous years and were successful in boosting attendance to over 200 registered alumni and recruiters.
Interested organisations who would like to know about future events, can email the alumni association at jetaa@jlgc.org.uk.
